


Wife of Mischief

by Cactilda



Series: Wife of Mischief [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-08-20 16:01:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 19
Words: 24,421
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16558826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cactilda/pseuds/Cactilda
Summary: Wife of Mischief, a title you never really imagined yourself holding!  You weren't complaining however, your husband, Loki, loved you more than anything.  He seemed to have loved you from the start!  Since the day he had nearly killed you, to the day he died you were the love of his life.This takes place throughout the mcu movies starting with the Avengers and takes place in your POV.





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> (y/n)=your name  
> (l/n)=last name  
> (b/f/n)=best friend's name (in this story they're a dude so I apologize)  
> (b/f/l/n)=best friend's last name  
> (h/c)=hair color  
> (h/l)=hair length  
> (s/c)=skin color  
> (e/c)=eye color

"Honestly (y/n), how on Earth did you manage to get us invited to a party as prestigious as this? In Germany no less?" my best friend (b/f/n) asked, slightly peeved that I likely had something to do with our invitations.  
"I may or may not have a few friends helping me out," I giggled, linking my arm through his as we walked around the large marble lobby. It was large and filled with all sorts of elegantly dressed people. There were women in long dresses, some of them sparkled and others were covered in the softest velvet I had ever seen. The men look just as elegant, wearing crisp tuxedos and shimmering ties, some of which had opals or other beautiful gems embedded into their tie clips or bow ties. As we wandered, we admired the occasional painting, statue, or simply just stopped to listen to the band playing beautifully orchestrated classical music.  
"Do you know when you'll be called in to interrogate someone?" my friend asked me as we mingled with the other guests. "No, but it shouldn't be too long before I'm needed. SHIELD has a lot of enemies after all!" I had recently been hired by SHIELD, or Nick Fury and a group called the Avengers specifically, to work as their interrogator for terrorists they catch. I pretty much just asked the bad guys cliche questions like why they're doing this, if they work for someone, who they work for or who sent them, what made them become bad, stuff like that. It was boring, but it paid well! I hadn't been called in for anything yet, but I had a feeling that it wouldn't be long until I was needed.  SHIELD had so many enemies it couldn't be long before I was called in!  I wondered what my first subject would be like, or what they did...  
As if on cue, a movement on the walkway on the opposite side of the room caught my eye. A rather beautiful man with long, ebony colored hair walked across the balcony. In his hand he held a dangerous looking staff with a blue stone that seemed to glow! We made eye contact as he made his way down the stairs and he grinned at me, but it was more malicious than friendly. Evil flashed in his blue eyes and I shivered.  The man looked at the host below him with ill intent, and I knew something bad was going to happen. "Hey (b/f/n)?"  
"Huh?" my friend said, shoving a stolen cookie from the banquet table into his tuxedo pocket and another in his mouth.  
"Something bad is about to happen.  Get to the door now," I said. I kept an eye on the man as he made his way over to the host who was too busy thanking everyone for coming and how well his company was doing to pay attention to the intimidating stranger. Several guards made their way over to the dark haired man, but he easily got rid of them with practically a flick of his wrist! He then flipped the host onto a marble bench in the center of the large room and held him down with one hand. People started backing away, not knowing what this man was doing, and accidentally pushing me and Guinness to the front of the crowd, which was less than enjoyable for us!  
He pulled an evil looking gadget that slightly resembled a pen out of his pocket and stabbed the man's eye, filling the room with a hair raising, high pitched whirring sound! (B/f/n) looked as if he were going to puke, and I felt myself paling, unable to tear my eyes away from the twitching form of the host!  
The man grinned again, watching as chaos unfold around him as guests screamed and stampeded to the door. (B/f/n) and I ran as well, trying not to get trampled as we ran out of the building trying to get away from the horror inside.  
Everyone gathered in a small courtyard across the street as we waited for the police and an ambulance to arrive. My friend and I finally stopped and looked at each other, trying to catch our breath. "Are you okay?" he asked me.  
"Yeah, yeah I think so!" I said, swallowing hard. What the hell was that? Who was that guy?  (B/f/n) and I began trying to calm each other down, but we didn't have much time to collect our thoughts however.  The man began appearing all around us, or at least it looked like the same one. These ones wore black and green robes and a golden, horned helmet on their heads. "Kneel before me!" one of them said, several people shrieked and backed away. More began appearing, and I noticed the raven haired villain walking out of the building.  
His clothes began glowing gold as they faded and turned into the same outfits the holograms were wearing. A police car made its way down the street quickly, but the man shot a ray of blue light at it and the car flipped onto its back and skidded down the road behind him. Finally he stopped in front of us and screamed at the top of his lungs, "KNEEL!" Everyone did as he demanded, not wanting to be the subject of his wrath.  
(B/f/n) and I exchanged looks of terror as we knelt as well. We gripped each other's hands tightly, trying to find some comfort. "(Y/n) you work with SHIELD, what do we do?!" he hissed.  
"I don't know! I just ask these freaks questions!" I whispered back. The strange man went on to talk about how us mortals were meant to be submissive, that the current state the crowd was in should feel simpler, more natural, and how in the end we will always kneel. An older gentleman next to us stood up and said, "Not to men like you."  
He chuckled in response and said, "There are no men like me!"  
"There are always men like you."  
The dark haired man smiled maliciously. "Look to your elder people!" he pointed the scepter at the elderly gentleman, "Let him be an example." However, adrenaline took over and I stood up as well, not even thinking about the consequences.  
"(Y/n), what the hell are you doing?!" (B/f/n) whisper shouted at me.  
"Oh look! We have another volunteer!" the villain said, turning his attention to me. I could hear my heartbeat in my ears and my hands trembled in fear by my sides. What WAS I doing?  
"But before I use you and the old man as examples, let me ask you something," he said, the evil look in his eyes had something else in them as well, something I couldn't place. Curiosity? They also appeared to have changed their color as well, since they nearly appeared green!  Was it just the lighting?  
"Are you scared my dear?" The question startled me, but I answered anyway.  
"I'm not scared-"  
"Liar!"  
"I'm terrified," I said, a little frustrated with his interruption, "but these are my people, and this world is my home. I will not it be taken by someone like you, even if means I die!"  
He was quiet for a minute, a new look present in his sapphire eyes. Was that admiration, surprise maybe? Had I struck a nerve? Did something I say change his mind? Unfortunately his evil grin became present on his pale face again and he said, "Very well! You and the old man will be used as examples of what will happen to foolish, disrespectful midguardians!"  
I tensed up, my eyes shut tightly as I waited for the pain of the blast to kill me. When nothing happened, I opened one eye, then the other. He was hesitating! His grin was gone and the blue weapon pointed limply at my chest.  We made eye contact and I tried to figure out what was stopping him. His eyes! They had changed, and they held such sadness and guilt! But why? Less than five minutes ago he was bragging about his power and almost giddily threatening us! "Having second tho-"  
"Shut up!" he shouted at me.  I bristled up. Why wouldn't he just shoot! What seemed like years passed and nothing happened.  He seemed to almost regret his decision!  Almost. Finally, it seemed his guilt disappeared and he grinned again and shot. I screamed, but before the blast could kill me, a man in a blue suit jumped in front of me and blocked the shot with a shield.  
"Captain Rogers?" I asked, confused but relieved to see the WWII hero. "Hello ma'am!" he said before turning his attention to the man across the court yard.  
"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing!"  
"The soldier," the man snarled, laughing slightly, "A man out of time!"  
"I'm not the one out of time," Cap said. A jet flew above us and a gun lowered out of its belly. I watched in awe as it took aim at the courtyard. (B/f/n) grabbed my arm and we quickly made our way out of the area. When he deemed where we stopped safe enough he pulled me into a bone crushing hug and told me to never do anything like that again. Before I could respond, a woman's voice came from a loudspeaker on the plane. "Loki, drop the weapon and stand down."  
The man I now knew as Loki shot a bolt of blue light at the jet but it dodged the attack easily. Cap threw his shield at Loki while he was distracted, and all hell broke lose. People ran in every direction screaming and tripping on each other trying to avoid Captain America's shield and Loki's blasts. (B/f/n) and I tried to get as far away from the fight as possible, which unfortunately wasn't very far. Something flew around the plane and took out Loki while he was distracted by Captain America.  Anthony Edward Stark had apparently decided to join us!  He stood above Loki and raised the blasters on his hands as other smaller weapons came out of the suit. "Make your move reindeer games," he said as Cap joined him. Loki raised his hands in defeat. The armor faded away and he was left in his black and green robes.  
As they loaded him into a container, I tore myself away from my friend, much to his dismay, and jogged up to my boss.  
"Mr. Stark! I wasn't expecting to see you tonight! Who is this guy?"  
"Hey newbie," he said, "I wasn't expecting to see you either. Reindeer games here is some Norse god from Asgard."  
"Huh," I looked at the new prisoner and we locked eyes for a second. There was something odd about him, I couldn't really place it. And his eyes, they seemed cold and empty, but I could tell he was hiding something, even when he was hurting someone I could see a flicker of guilt in his eyes. Something cold and metal tapped on my head and I jumped. "Hey kid, try not to daydream about our captives okay? I may have to rethink hiring you if you keep making googly eyes at bad people," Tony Stark said semi jokingly.  
"Sorry sir, you were saying?"  
"I was offering you and your boyfriend a ride home in the Quinjet."  
"My boyfriend?"  
Someone ran up behind me and rested a hand on my shoulder. "(Y/n) PLEASE stop running off like that! Especially since I'm still trying to get over the fact that you nearly got killed!"  
"(B/f/n) I am fine! And I'm sorry. Just wait a minute though because Mr. Stark was filling me in on my first subject."  
(B/f/n) looked over at my boss and said good evening and apologized for interrupting. The billionaire chuckled and brushed it off. "It's fine. I was just offering you and your girlfriend a ride back home in the Quinjet!"  
"She's not my girlfriend," my friend blushed in embarrassment. More laughter from Tony.  
"We'll be fine sir! Our plane is leaving tomorrow so I'll be back to interrogate Loki on time."  
"Great, thanks (l/n)!" he said firing up the blasters in his boots.  
"No problem sir!" And just like that he was gone.


	2. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (y/n)=your name  
> (l/n)=last name  
> (b/f/n)=best friend's name (in this story they're a dude so I apologize)  
> (b/f/l/n)=best friend's last name  
> (h/c)=hair color  
> (h/l)=hair length  
> (s/c)=skin color  
> (e/c)=eye color

_**A few days later** _

Finally, after days of waiting for everything to be ready, it was time for me to begin my job.  SHIELD had sent a private jet to the airport for me to bring me over to one of their new compounds.  It looked like a large aircraft carrier, but from what I had heard from a couple coworkers, it was so much more than that!  SHIELD called it the Helicarrier, and used it as a top secret way to transport terrorists they caught, as well as weapons.  Tony Stark had helped design it, so I wasn't surprised at how advanced its technology was.  

My plane landed a few hours later, I walked down the stairs and onto the runway of the Helicarrier. Even though I had heard about the aircraft before, and seeing it in person made it all the more amazing. It was still on the water, and I couldn't wait for it to take off! "Hey Ms. (l/n)!" someone called me. I turned around and was met by Captain Steve Rogers and an intimidating looking woman with curly red hair.  
"Captain Rogers! It's good to see you again, especially under better circumstances," I said cheerfully. "You too," the tall blonde man said, shaking my hand.  
"This is Natasha Romanoff." The woman stepped forward and smiled. We shook hands and I said, "The name's (y/n) (l/n), it's a pleasure to meet you ma'am!"  
"It's a pleasure to meet you too," she said. She was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Her voice sounded familiar, but I couldn't place where I had heard it!  
"Aren't you the kid that tried to stand up to Loki?'  
"Uh, yeah. Not my smartest move," I laughed sheepishly, turning red.  
"Not a very smart one, but a brave one for sure. You got guts!"  
"Oh! Thank you!"  
Then it hit me, she was the woman in the Quinjet!  
"Hey weren't you piloting the Quinjet?"  
"Yes I was!"  
Before I could thank her and Steve for saving me, another plane landed. Natasha smiled and walked over to it as a small man with glasses and curly salt and pepper hair came out, looking around in awe. Steve walked up to him and said, "Dr. Banner!"  
The man turned around and shook his hand, "Oh yeah, hi! They told me you'd be coming."  
"Word is you can find the cube!"  
Dr. Banner nodded. "Is that the only word about me?"  
"That's the only word I care about!"  
He nodded again and pursed his lips. "Must be strange for you with all this," he gestured to all the people and high-tech planes on the runway.  
"Well, this is actually kind of familiar."  
Natasha and I joined them at the edge of the platform. "Gentleman, (y/n), you might want to step inside in a minute. It's....gonna get a little hard to breathe."  
I looked at her, a grin forming on my lips. A siren went off and a loud whirring sound filled the air as people started running around.  
"Is this a submarine?" Steve asked, walking closer to the edge of the Helicarrier. Dr. Banner joined him and grinned cynically, "Really," he said, "they want me in a submerged pressurized metal container?"  
I looked at him confused but instead of giving me an explanation he just shook his head and looked away. We gazed over the side of the runway as large fans rose out of the water, lifting the Helicarrier out of the water and into the air. Dr. Banner scowled and shouted over the loud whirring, "Oh no this is much worse!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading this mess! If you have any suggestions for additions to the story, please comment them!! <3


	3. 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (y/n)=your name  
> (l/n)=last name  
> (b/f/n)=best friend's name (in this story they're a dude so I apologize)  
> (b/f/l/n)=best friend's last name  
> (h/c)=hair color  
> (h/l)=hair length  
> (s/c)=skin color  
> (e/c)=eye color

About half an hour later we were high up in the air and invisible to anyone on the water thanks to a cloaking device Tony had made. Taking advantage of the free time I had before my interrogation with Loki I wandered around the large aircraft. There was so much to explore! Unfortunately a lot of it was off limits for me, so I was limited to only a few rooms and halls. None of them were very interesting, considering all of the dangerous equipment was blocked off, so I just sat in Dr. Banner's lab tinkering with some of the harmless and/or useless equipment he let me use and finding out more about him. I asked simple, easy, non personal stuff like his favorite food, hobbies, closest friends, just stuff to break the ice. He answered all of them absentmindedly, since he was working on how to find a glowing blue cube called the tesseract.  
That is, until I asked about why he felt that putting him on here was such a bad idea. He froze and turned around to face me. I sat up straighter in my chair, accidentally knocking over my little creation. "Dr. Banner, is something wrong?"  
"The answer to the question you asked is extremely personal, please don't mention it again."  
"Yes sir."  
He was still tense when he turned around and continued working, and remained so until a group of heavily armed soldiers walked by the windows of the lab. Dr. Banner and I turned our attention to the group, looking for what they were guarding, or who. Loki. My first subject was making his way down the hall surrounded by about ten heavily armed soldiers and staring intently into the room. We made eye contact and he grinned. It seemed a little less evil this time. Until he saw Dr. Banner. His grin only grew and became pure evil. Dr. Banner took off his glasses and stared after him, pinching the bridge of his nose after he walked away.  
"You okay Doc?"  
"Yeah, yeah I'm fine."  
A few minutes later he was called to a meeting with Captain Rogers, Natasha Romanoff, Tony Stark, and Loki's brother, Thor. I was invited to come as well, seeing as that I could likely benefit from seeing video surveillance of the god of mischief and Director Fury's interaction. It was interesting to say the least! Loki had been locked in a large, cylindrical container held up by large clamps attached to the ceiling.  
"In case it's unclear," Director Fury said, adjusting the settings of the container's security on a computer, "if you try to escape, if you so much as scratch that glass," the floor beneath the large cage opened up and Loki looked over into the opening through the glass walls warily. I leaned forward in my seat, eyes wide and mouth agape. There was no way even a god like Loki could survive a fall from this height!  
"It's 30,000 feet straight down in a steel trap," Director Fury yelled over the wind. "You get how that works?" He pushed a few buttons on the computer panel again and the hole closed up. Then he gestured to Loki, "Ant," he gestured to the computer panel, "boot."  
Loki snickered and backed away from the walls and into the center of the cage. "It's an impressive cage!" he said, "Not built, I think, for me."  
"Built for something much stronger than you."  
What could be stronger than a god? I would have to ask Director Fury who, or what the cage was originally made for.  
"Oh I've heard!" Loki turned and stared directly into the security camera we were watching him through. As I watched him, it almost felt as if we had made eye contact! I knew it wasn't possible, there was no way he could see me or anyone else in the room, but the feeling still sent shivers down my spine. "A mindless beast, makes play he's still a man!"  
I noticed Natasha look up at Dr. Banner, who was shifting uncomfortably. Loki continued, looking at Fury now. "How desperate are you, that you call on such lost creatures to defend you?"  
"How desperate am I?" Fury interjected. "You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control! You talk about peace and you kill because it's fun. You have made me VERY desperate. You might not be glad that you did!"  
"Oh. It _burns_ you to have come so close! To have the tesseract, to have power, unlimited power! And for what?" Loki snickered and looked at the camera again. I could feel shivers go down my spine once again as it felt as if his blue eyes bore into mine and anyone else watching.  
"A warm light for all mankind to share. And then to be reminded what real power is." His attention was back on Fury and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. Director Fury smirked and began walking away. "Well let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something," he said as he walked out of the room. The video surveillance turned off and we were left to discuss the best course of action on how to deal with the god and find the tesseract at the same time.  
"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Dr. Banner chuckled sarcastically.  
"He really does," I returned with the same tone, "I'm gonna head down to see our friend, I have some questions to ask him." I turned and began walking out of the room. As I did, I passed Mr. Stark and Agent Coulson on their way to the meeting. "A bit late aren't you?" I chuckled.  
"Yeah well, I had some business to do. Did they already watch Reindeer Games and Fury have a friendly chat?"  
"Yep, you really missed out on some fun stuff!"  
"Damn, I was really hoping to see that discussion! Hey where are you going anyway?"  
"I'm only way to have a friendly chat of my own with our friend!"  
"Ah, tell him I said hi for me!"  
"I will be sure to do that boss! Have a good day Agent Coulson."  
"You too (l/n)," the middle aged man replied with a smile.  
I smiled and agreed to do so. As I made my way down the hall I heard Stark begin his shenanigans as he called out one of the employees for playing Galaga. I laughed, knowing that the others wouldn't find him as funny as I did. However I couldn't act so light hearted for too long, there was no way I'd be able to successfully interrogate Loki while acting like a giddy child. He'd find me weak and instead of giving me answers he would likely play brain games with me, and likely use the incident in Stuttgart as a breaking point.  As I walked I looked over the file SHIELD had made of him.  My eyes scanned it quickly and got to his kill count; eighty people in just two days!  What exactly happened before his attack in Stuttgart?!  I guess I'd find out.  
The hall to his cell was filled to the brim with armed guards, all stoic faced and stiff. I shivered at the unwelcoming feeling. Before I got to the door, two of them stepped in my way and asked- well, demanded- for my ID, which I happily revealed. They waved me on and before I opened the door I heard one say, "Good luck." I shivered again, the normally kind gesture now unsettling. I knew that I would physically be fine, but mentally? That was a whole other problem to worry about.  
Loki was where we had last seen him, standing in the middle of the container. His back was facing me however. I sat down on the ground and made myself aware of all the cameras in the room. If something happened to me, surely someone would know and come to my rescue. As I finished counting all the cameras, I heard Loki laugh.  
"Even if someone saw something happen to you, do you really think they would be able to get to you in time?" I jumped at the sudden sound of his cold voice. "No, but at least there'd be an attempt, successful or not," I replied. He only sneered at me. "You foolish child."  
I ignored him and began asking the questions I had to. He answered all of them in riddles, so after a few questions I gave up trying to decipher them and just wrote his answers down instead. I'd figure them out later.  
"You grow aggravated!" he smiled.  
"Yeah, you keep answering my questions in riddles!"  
"Hm yes I suppose you're right!"  
I rolled my eyes and massaged my temples, groaning. He was giving me a headache. "Are you dying? You certainly sound like you are," he asked sarcastically.  
"Hopefully," I responded, "You, sir, are giving me the worst headache in history!"  
"I do apologize."  
A few seconds later it was gone! "Ah finally! It's gone."  
"You're welcome."  
"What?"  
"I helped get rid of your headache."  
I blinked. He what now? Why? "Why exactly? You tried to kill me the other day, why are you suddenly being nice to me?"  
"I tried to kill you? I'm afraid I don't remember trying to kill a girl like you," he replied, avoiding my question.  
"I- how do you not remember?"  
"I have killed- or attempted to kill- lots of midguardians! Which one were you?"  
I sighed, of course he didn't remember. "I was the woman you nearly shot in Stuttgart. I stood up to you? With the old man?" A smile spread across his face as he recalled our little interaction.  
"Ah yes! That's the first time anyone had ever stood up to me. I must say I admire you! I'm glad I didn't kill you, that would be quite a disappointment."  
"And he doesn't even apologize. You're insufferable!" I groaned. He snickered in response. I could feel another headache coming on but it was quickly whisked away by something I could only imagine was Loki.  
"You're different," I heard him say after a few minutes. His tone of voice had changed. It was no longer arrogant and mischievous, it was more curious now. I looked up at him, one eyebrow raised in confusion. He was sitting cross legged on the floor of his cage, his chin propped up on his hands. "How am I different exactly?" I asked sarcastically, expecting another riddle.  
"I can't look into your mind! There's something blocking me. And what I can see are just a few memories, but they aren't that useful for me."  
I hummed, knowing that he would likely try to find something to fuck me up with. "I've had to put up blocks before, I haven't had to in a while, but I have done it before."  
"Oh?  Do tell."  
I bristled. "That's none of your business."  
"What of a boy named (b/f/n)? He's in quite a few of the memories I could get to."  
"He's a good friend of mine. If you ever do get out of here, and I find out that you've harmed him in any way, I will kill you."  
Loki nodded and said, "That's fair."

He watched me write down my notes, and I occasionally grumbled in frustration when I couldn't decipher one of his riddles.

"I'm sorry," he said after a few minutes.  I looked up at him in confusion.

"For?  There are many reasons, please be specific."

"Trying to kill you, giving you a headache, invading your privacy, etc."

"Oh," I said, although now I was even more confused.  What made him apologize?  "You're forgiven I guess?"

He smiled and continued watching me.  "Okay, what do you want?" I said, very frustrated.  "You don't seem like the type to apologize, or even be nice.  Why the sudden change?  Why me?"

"Like I said, you're different."

"You're going to have to give me a better reason than that."

His face became dark and angry, and he said, "I don't need to explain myself any more than that."

"You kind of do, actually."

"You midguardians and your need to know everything.  You're so insufferable!"

"Says the guy who killed eighty people in two days!"

"As if your kind doesn't do that to each other daily."

He got me there.  I sighed in frustration and went back to my notes and riddles.  How could one man cause me so much anger and frustration?!  I swore I felt another headache coming on, but once again, it never fully came.  We sat in silence for a while, neither of us speaking or looking at each other.  Every time a headache started developing though, they disappeared!

"You don't have to keep doing that you know," I said after I had calmed down.

"I know, but I thought I might do something nice since I nearly killed you."

"Thanks.  Sorry for exploding on you by the way."

"No worries, it was my fault."

I hummed in response, but Loki clearly wasn't done talking.  "Do you want help with my answers?  It's the least I can do."

"Promise not to rummage through my brain?"

"Promise."

I smiled, grabbed a chair standing by the door, and dragged it over to the wall of his cell.  "Okay, first one," I said, then began reciting his riddle.  He gave me the answer and I wrote it down quickly before moving onto the second one.  We did this until I had finished all of the questions, and I thanked him for helping me.  We talked for a few more minutes, even laughed a bit at a few of his answers once he had helped me decipher them, until a guard came in to tell me that I was needed elsewhere. Loki had stopped smiling as soon as the tall man came in, regaining his composure before the guard could see him with any other expression other than arrogance and evil. However I could see the playfulness still evident in his blue eyes.  
"I'll be back tomorrow Loki," I said, still grinning.  
"I look forward to it," he replied coolly, with a little hint of a smile.

I turned to go but he stopped me, "Wait, I never did catch your name!"

"My name is (y/n) (l/n)."

He smiled again, and I waved before closing the heavy duty door behind me.


	4. 4

After my interrogation with Loki, the day only went downhill. Everyone kept getting into fights and accusing each other of things that may or may not have been true. I couldn't even break up their petty arguments either! Any time I would step in to stop any of them from killing each other, Tony and Steve mostly, I would get pushed aside or ignored. Tony and Steve were especially ruthless with me however. Tony usually used my job as an excuse to prove that I had no business intervening, and Steve snapped that if it weren't for him I'd be dead, so I had no business stopping them if I couldn't even protect myself. This only continued so I eventually gave up and retired to my room.  
After all of their bickering and my jet lag I was exhausted, falling asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow. The day had been unreasonably long. When I joined SHIELD I hadn't expected to be babysitting their heroes too. They were grown adults yet they were acting like children! Even if I hadn't given up on trying to stop their fights, I was out matched in every way possible. Steve was a super soldier and was practically twice my size, Tony was a genius with any piece of technology at his disposal, Natasha was a trained assassin, and Dr. Banner could apparently turn into a giant monster; information he had previously withheld from me. Any one of them could overpower me if I did something to anger them! So instead of fighting them and getting hurt or fired I went to my room to rest. I welcomed my deep sleep with open arms and happily let my mind wander and dream whatever it wanted to.  
In my dream I woke up and saw that I was floating in space, but it only looked like space.  I was weightless but there was also a sense of gravity, which was an odd and confusing feeling.  The kind of feeling you have while underwater. I was filled with a sense of tranquility and comfort Millions of small star-like lights surrounding me danced and moved around like fire flies.  
Playfully, I grabbed at one of the lights, and suddenly I was in a different place! I was standing in some kind of outdoor corridor, overlooking the most beautiful scene ever! There was a vast city before me, and beyond that, a beautiful ocean that seemed to spill over the edge of the land and into space. I heard a child's voice behind me and I turned around. A tall, regal woman strode down the hall with a little boy skipping after her. The woman was beautiful with long, ginger hair and a fair face. Her cream colored dress seemed to glimmer in the sunlight and flowed around her ankles weightlessly. The little boy next to her looked up at her with pure admiration and love. He had short, black hair and a pale face, his green eyes were filled with wonder as he tugged on the woman's dress, earning him a loving grin.  
"Mother! Can you teach me how to become a Raven? One of father's died and he's upset, so I want to become one to make him happy again!"  
I grinned, knowing exactly who the little boy was. It was Loki! Although I could have sworn he had blue eyes. We're these his memories? I waved, wondering if they could see me. When nothing happened I realized they couldn't, which was likely a good thing. I hoped he made his father happy again. Then as quickly as the memory had started it was over and I was back in space. Wondering what would happen in the next memory, I grabbed at another light, instantly recognizing the hunched over shape of Thor as he sat sullenly on a pair of stairs. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Loki quietly round a column and sit by his brother.  
"It is unwise to be in my company right now brother," Thor said, clearly angry, "This was to be my day of triumph!"  
"It'll come. In time," Loki's quieter voice reassured him. He sounded so different, so much more kind! What happened to him to make him so evil? The memory ended again and I was flung back into space. I grabbed another light, wondering what would happen in this one. Now we were in some kind of treasure room, different relics and powerful artifacts mounted on stands and pedestals. Loki stood at the end of the corridor, picking up a glowing blue relic. My finger tips began feeling cold, then my hands. I looked down at them. They were blue! The color was quickly running up my arms and I could feel its coldness making its way up my torso and my neck. I heard footsteps behind me and I turned around, an older man stood at the top of the stairs and looked at Loki.  
"Stop!" he shouted.  
"Am I cursed?" Loki's said, not turning around.  
"No."  
"What am I?"  
"You are my son."  
He must be talking to Odin! What was going on? Did it have to do with my now blue skin?  
"What more than that?" he turned around to face Odin and I gasped. His skin had turned blue just like mine! His eyes were no longer green either, they had become a deep crimson, and grooves had formed on his forehead, creating some kind of symbol.  
"The Casket wasn't the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day was it?" Loki continued.  
"....No. In the aftermath of the battle I went into the temple and I found a baby. Small, for a giant's offspring, abandoned, suffering, left to die. Laufey's son."  
"Laufey's son," Loki repeated.  I vaguely remembered learning about the feud between Jotuns and the Asgardians in high school.  He must have been in so much pain! I felt terrible for him.  
"Yes," Odin replied. I could hear Loki begin to hyperventilate, his breaths becoming ragged and shallow. I wanted to hug him, or comfort him in some way, but I knew I couldn't.  
"Why?" he asked, his voice sounded tight and strained, "You were knee deep in Jotun blood why would you take me?"  
"You were an innocent child-"  
"No," Loki interjected, "You took me for a purpose what was it?" Silence. Odin didn't answer, likely too embarrassed and guilty to confront his own son. Anger began bubbling inside me. Loki's breathing was becoming more uncontrolled and I could almost hear his heart breaking. A lump was forming in my throat. No wonder he was so angry and violent, he had been fed a lie his entire life!  
"TELL ME!" he cried.  
"I thought we could unite our kingdoms one day, bring about an alliance, bring about a permanent peace. Through you," Odin finally answered. There it was, I could hear the sound of Loki's hear shattering into a million pieces like glass. He was a tool to his father, a peace offering to people he was raised to fear and hate. Tears spilled from my eyes as I witnessed Loki going from a quiet, unassuming child to a villain at the hands of his father.  
"What?" he said, his voice and tear streaked face perfectly portraying how broken and betrayed he felt.  
"But those plans no longer matter."  
"So I am no more than another stolen relic?" he asked, crying, "Locked up here until you might have use of me?"  
"Why do you twist my words?"  
"You could have told me what I was from the beginning! Why didn't you?!"  
"You are my son. I wanted only to protect you from the truth."  
"What? Because I...I...I'm the monster parents tell their children about at night? You know it all makes sense now! Why you favored Thor all these years, because no matter how much you claim to love me, you could never have a frost giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!"  
Then they were gone. The memory was over and I was left in silence again. Tears continued to spill down my cheeks and I examined my hands. They were no longer blue.  Another light flew by and I desperately grabbed it, hoping maybe there was a good ending.  The scene I was met with held no hope however.  
Thor stood in front of a small golden building that glowed almost violently.   Loki lay a few meters away from him, laying down on the brightly colored bridge under my feet.  "If you destroy the bridge you'll never see her again!" he screamed as Thor hacked away at the path with Mjolnir.  Thor ignored him though, and slammed his hammer into the bridge again.  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Loki slowly pick himself up.  He grabbed his golden spear and began charging at his brother, his emerald eyes flashed murderously.  Even though I knew neither of them could hear me, I couldn't help but try to get him to stop.  "Loki no!" I cried as he raised he weapon and lunged at Thor. "Forgive me Jane," I heard Thor say, and he swung Mjolnir once more, causing the small, round building to explode, and the bridge in front of us erupt and shatter into millions of pieces!  We were thrown back from the blast and I tumbled down the bridge.  I sat back up just in time to see Thor and Loki get thrown of the edge of the shattered path.  "No!" I screamed.  However I had failed to see Odin arrive, and I didn't notice him until he had grabbed Thor's foot.  I ran to the man's side, desperately wanting to help pull them back up, but knowing that I couldn't.  Peering over the side, I saw that Loki clung to the end of the spear while Thor gripped the other end, ensuring that his brother wouldn't fall.  
"I could have done it father," Loki shouted over the wind, "for you!  For all of you."  
"No, Loki," Odin responded.  Loki looked at his father with a broken expression on his face.  "Loki no!" Thor begged, and I realized what the raven haired man was thinking.  However it was too late,  Loki let go and fell.  Then it was over, and I was flung back into space like a rag doll.  I gripped my arms tightly and tried to calm my breathing.  This had to be a dream.  It had to be!  There was no way Loki had died, I had seen him, he threatened my life, I had talked to him, yelled at him, even laughed with him!  This wasn't possible!  
 I began raising my hands to wipe tears from my face but just as they made contact with my cheeks, my eyes flew open and I was back in my room. I looked at the alarm clock mounted on my nightstand. 3:30 am. The others would be asleep right now. Something wet ran down my face and I touched it. I flicked my lamp on and examined my finger tip, confirming that the wet substance was a tear. Apparently I hadn't just been crying in my dream.  
Remembering the events that had happened I pulled my phone out and looked up the relationship between Jotunheim and Asgard to confirm my theory.  Asgard's king, Odin, had attacked Jotunheim after its inhabitants attempted to take over Earth. He defeated their king and took their power source, a glowing blue relic called the casket. "Yeah except he stole a child as well," I muttered under my breath.  
I was wide awake now, the jet lag and leftover shock from my odd dream refusing to let me sleep. It was about 10:30 in the morning in Germany, and my internal clock was still convinced we were in Stuttgart, so I decided to check on our resident god of Mischief. If he was awake, which was unlikely, maybe I'd ask him some questions about his past and see if they lined up with what I had seen in my dream.  
I flung my blankets off and threw on a hoodie and a pair of sneakers. On the way to Loki's cell, I took a detour and stopped by the kitchen for a snack. I opened the door to the large room quietly and flicked on the light, surprised to see a plate of food wrapped in plastic sitting on the counter. There was a yellow sticky note attached to it and I picked it up, reading the little message scribbled on it.  
"Sorry for insulting you earlier. That was really rude of me, especially since you were trying to help. You didn't respond when I knocked on your door so I peaked in to see if you were okay and apologize personally but you were asleep. Also sorry that I didn't wake you up for dinner, I thought it was best to let you sleep since I know you're still on German time and you've had to put up with us fighting all day.  
-Tony"  
I smiled and made a mental note to let him know that all was fine between us. My eyes landed on the little Iron Man stick figure saying sorry drawn in the corner and I chuckled. I folded the note neatly and put it in my hoodie pocket. The meal was somehow still warm when I unwrapped it and I admired the food. It was (f/f)! I dug some silverware out of a drawer and ate the food happily, finishing it quicker than I had hoped. I put my dishes in the large dishwasher and made my way out of the kitchen, turning off the light and closing the door quietly to make sure I didn't wake anyone up.  
The walk down to Loki's cell was even more ominous than before, so much in fact that I was relieved when I saw all of the usually intimidating guards. I walked past them and up to the door, one of the guards made a move to stop me but I held up my ID before she could ask me for it. The room was dark when I walked in, the only light source came from Loki's cell. To my surprise he was still awake! His back was turned to me again and he sat cross legged on the floor of the cage. I made my way over to it quietly and sat in the same position.  
"I knew you'd come."


	5. 5

"Jesus christ! You have to stop giving me these heart attacks Loki," I said breathlessly, "I know you're a bad guy but come on, I thought we became friends earlier!"  
"Sorry," the raven haired god chuckled, "I couldn't help it!"  
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I get it. God of mischief and everything. Anyway, what are you doing up your highness?" I responded sarcastically.  
"I could ask you the same thing, but I already know the answer. As for me, I couldn't sleep. I haven't seemed to be able to for a while." I could hear the nearly hidden sound of sadness in his voice.  
"Wait, how do you know why I'm up?"  
"You're jet lagged! That is what you midguardians call it, correct?"  
"Yeah, it is."  
Damn, I had hoped he somehow already knew about my dream, that would have made things a lot easier for me! Now I had to figure out how to explain my dream to him. There was a moment of silence between us as I figured how to ask him about his past. It seemed like an easy task, but in reality it was far from that. Getting someone like Loki to open up about his likely depressing past is near impossible, especially when you barely know them and haven't fully earned their trust! I took a deep breath and decided to just ask. What's the worst that could happen? He'd just say that's too personal and we'd move on!  
"Hey Loki?"  
"Yes?"  
"What...what was your childhood like?"  
He was quiet. His face became slightly blue, just barely noticeable, and he looked away from me. "It's not something I enjoy talking about," he said quietly.  
"That's okay, you don't have to talk about it."  
"Why do you care anyway? You're keeping me prisoner here, I assume you all hate me!"  
"Hate, no. I just don't trust you, that's all."  
"Then why should I trust you?"  
"I guess you don't have to trust me! I was just curious as to why you became, well, bad!"  
"Again, why do you care?"  
I was silent for a minute. How the hell does one explain to someone that they had a dream that they saw their memories and discovered their darkest secrets? That's just it, YOU DON'T. But this was Loki we're talking about! He would be able to get it out of me whether I wanted him to or not.  
"I just, I had a really weird dream earlier. I dreamt that I was in space and there were these little lights that looked like stars and when I grabbed one they ended up being memories, I think. And I'm pretty sure-"  
A guard walked in and I was cut off abruptly. I stood up and walked over to her, "Is anything wrong ma'am?"  
"It's really early in the morning, Ms. (l/n), we wanted to make sure you were okay," the woman said, eyeing Loki suspiciously.  
"Yes, I'm fine, thank you. Loki and I were just having an early morning session!" I wasn't lying, asking about what had made Loki become evil was on the list of questions I had to ask! The woman hummed and was about to leave when a voice on her radio alerted her.  
"Hey, guard lady, can you send (l/n) up to the kitchen?"  
The guard and I sighed in unison and she agreed to send me up. I recognized the man's voice, it was Tony Stark. I asked for the guard's radio and she gave it to me.  
"Stark, what are you doing up? It's like, 4:30!"  
"Uh, actually it's 5, and ask anyone on here and they'll agree that I'm an early riser!"  
"Yeah sure sounds like it," I replied, pinching the bridge of my nose.  
"Anyway, can you come up here? I need to talk to you."  
"Yeah, sure I'll be right up."  
Sighing, I handed the guard her radio and looked back at Loki, who was sulking on the floor of his cell. "Sorry Loki, I'll be back later!" He just nodded and continued watching me like a sad puppy. "Damn those eyes," I muttered under my breath as I walked out of the room.  
When I got up to the kitchen, the sun was beginning to shine through the clouds, lighting my way a little better than the fluorescent lights above me. I swung the double doors open and was surprised to see not just Tony, but Steve as well! "Good morning gentlemen?" I greeted them, but it came out as more of a question.  
"Good morning (y/n)!" Steve said chirpily.  
"So we're on a first name basis now?" I asked, slightly confused for several reasons.  
"Look, (y/n) we owe you an apology," Tony said.  
"Don't worry about it, I read your note!"  
I pulled the little sticky note out of my hoodie pocket.  
"I thought you apologized to her in person!" Steve scolded.  
"I was going to, but she was asleep! Now if you had gone to apologize to her in person too, you would have known that!"  
"GUYS! I am RIGHT HERE. Now unless you two wanted to insult me more by starting to bicker like children again, I suggest you stop!"  
The two men stopped and looked down at their feet embarrassed.  
"We're sorry, (y/n). For everything. I shouldn't have insulted you yesterday, it was extremely rude and you didn't deserve it," Steve said. Tony apologized as well and I forgave them.  
"Why do you guys fight so much anyway? You're both extraordinary, you're both trying to protect your home from evil, so why are constantly at each other's throats?"  
As soon as I finished speaking, they both flew into a bunch of reasons and excuses for why they hated each other so much, and eventually started fighting again.  
"They're like dogs and cats, holy shit!" I said to myself, crossing my arms and watching in awe as they started coming up with more and more ridiculous answers. "I'm done, I'm out of here!" I said, raising my hands in defeat and walking out of the room, "Loki is better company than you two!" With that being said, I wandered down the hall and back to better company.


	6. 6

I spent most of my day with Loki after my argument with Steve and Tony and tried to avoid the others. They were likely still on edge with each other and I didn't want to get involved with their fights. Not that I was complaining though, I enjoyed spending time with the god of mischief! Loki seemed to enjoy my company too, probably because I didn't hate him like the others did. I talked to him like he was a friend, not an enemy! Maybe I'd be able to gain his trust and he'd open up about his past! Unlikely, but there was no harm in trying, so I walked down to my new friend's cell to see him still sulking on the floor when I finally got back to him after grabbing a quick snack from the kitchen after I knew the others weren't still in there eating lunch.  
"You look like a pouting child!" I laughed when I walked into the room.  
"You left me in the middle of an important conversation!" Loki whined.  
"We were talking about how much you hate your brother so it wasn't THAT important. Besides, he cares for you a lot!"  
He huffed dramatically and looked away from me, pushing his bottom lip out and crossing his arms. I walked over to his cell and sat on my knees just as dramatically, and begged for his forgiveness, earning a laugh from him. "Oh please my king, will you ever forgive me? I am deeply sorry I did such a terrible thing to you!"  
"Alright alright! You're milking it now!" he laughed.  
"Does this mean I'm forgiven?"  
"Yes I suppose it does."  
"Oh thank you my king! I am forever in your debt!" Loki laughed heartily and told me to stop. I did as he requested and got off my knees, opting to sit normally so that my legs didn't ache when I stood up again. "I'm surprised you became so nice to me so quickly!" I said, hugging my knees to my chest.  
"How come?"  
"Well, you seemed pretty intent on killing me in Germany, but then you switched completely after I began interrogating you! Why is that?"  
"I don't really know myself. I guess that I wanted to be close to someone here in case something happens! Maybe someone to protect or go to for protection and comfort. Maybe both!"  
"Huh, why me though?"  
"You looked friendly enough! You didn't threaten me as soon as you walked in so that was a relief."  
"Are you saying you care about me?" I snickered playfully. He looked at me in disbelief and said, "What are you a child?"  
"You didn't answer my question!"  
"Yes, I suppose in a way I do. You are the only one that's been kind to me so far anyway!" he sighed. I giggled like a child and he rolled his eyes. "Now you're the insufferable one," he said. A silence passed between us and I began thinking about my dream again. Somehow I had managed to remember all of it, unlike most dreams I've had! It was so odd, and when Loki had turned slightly blue when I had asked about his past, was that just the lighting playing tricks on me or was he actually a Jotun? I had so many questions about it, but I couldn't tell him about that dream. There's no way he'd take me seriously!  
"What are you thinking about?" I heard Loki ask.  
"Nothing, don't worry about it."  
"Good! Because I wanted to ask about your dream."  
I nearly choked on air. Shit! I had forgotten that I had tried to talk about it earlier!  
"Oh, it's nothing! Forget about it," I said, hoping he'd move on.  
"No, it obviously isn't! It had something to do with me didn't it?"  
"What? No! Why would you think that?"  
"Because you had asked about my past before you began talking about your dream. What happened in it (y/n)?"  
I was silent as I tried to figure out a way to get out of telling him about what I had seen. "(Y/n), what happened in your dream?"  
"Why do you care so much about it?"  
"It has something to do with me! I deserve to know what it was!"  
I huffed angrily, deciding that there was no way I could get out of telling him unless another guard came in.  
"Fine, I'll tell you."  
"Thank you!" he said frustratedly.  
"Last night, for some odd reason I dreamt that I saw your memories."  
"Oh?" he said, although something in his voice told me he wasn't surprised  
"Yes, I saw you as a child trying to make your father happy, I saw you as a teen trying to comfort your brother after an apparently important day of his was ruined, I saw you find out what you were, and I saw you," I paused, remembering the scene where he had died, "and I saw you die."  
I looked at Loki and locked our eyes together. Instead of being surprised, he just looked sad. "I see," he said quietly. I narrowed my eyes at him, something wasn't right. He almost seemed like he knew what my dream was.  
"You...you knew about my dream! How?" He looked away as if he were ashamed.  
"Loki how did you know about my dream?"  
"I put it in your head," he said, almost too quietly for me to hear.  
"You....what?"  
"I made you dream about my memories! I put them in your mind and made you see them."  
I stared at him wide eyed. I didn't know if I should be angry since he messed with my brain, or happy that he deemed me trustworthy enough to see them. "Why?" I finally said after what felt like an eternity.  
"Because you're the only person that's ever been nice to me! I wanted you to see them and to understand why I am the way I am! I needed to to trust me!"  
"You nearly killed me Loki! If you want me to trust you after Stuttgart you could have just apologized, not answered my questions in riddles, and not tried to rummage through my head!"  
Both of us had tears spilling down our faces and I stood up. Loki looked up at me and watched me leave. Before I walked out I heard him say, "I'm sorry (y/n), please forgive me!"  
"I do," I sniffed, and walked out. The guards gave me funny looks but I walked off before they had the chance to ask me anything.


	7. 7

For some odd reason the fact that Loki had let me see his memories in my sleep bothered me more than it should have. He had done it so that I would understand and trust him, he wasn't trying to hurt me at all! The past few days had been stressful, and my lack of sleep probably wasn't helping either. I hadn't eaten since four in the morning too so likely I was having low blood sugar and that was why I reacted so harshly! So I decided that after a decent meal and some sleep I'd go and apologize to Loki. As I made my way back to the kitchen I bumped into Tony.  
"Hey, (y/n), I've been looking for you! You have a minute?"  
"Huh? Oh, yeah!" I quickly wiped my face and turned around, hoping that the terrible lighting helped disguise my tear streaked face.  
"Yeah. Actually, are you okay? You look like you've been crying! Did my argument with Capsicle upset you that much?"  
"What? No, I'm fine!"  
"You sure? Your eyes are red and puffy and you're sniffling a lot!"  
"Yeah it's just um...allergies!"  
Tony looked at me appalled and dragged me into a nearby room.  
"Honestly how dumb do you think I am?"  
"Not at all sir!"  
"Then how the hell do you expect me to believe these are allergies?"  
I sniffled in response. Of course I had to say something stupid like allergies! Where would I even get allergies on this ship?!  
"Yeah I'm starting to realize how dumb I look."  
"Great, so why are you crying? It doesn't have anything to do with Loki does it?"  
"No," I lied.  
"Okay, explain."  
"It's just stress boss. And I haven't really properly slept with the whole jet lag thing or eaten since like, four am. My emotions are just all over the place right now, it's nothing to worry about!"  
"Okay, thank you for finally telling the truth, now get to the kitchen and get some food you're practically shaking!"  
"Thank you sir!"  
He patted me on the back and I dashed out the door and down the hallway. Once in the kitchen I scavenged the cabinets for some food. After opening one, I came upon a glorious pack of ramen. I heated some water up and after it was boiled, poured it into a bowl with the rest of the needed ingredients. While I ate, I heard the door behind me open and I turned around. Tony stormed in and sat across from me, looking angry and ready to fight someone.  
"Did you and Captain Rogers get into another fight?" I asked, wiping my mouth with a napkin.  
"No," he said menacingly.  
"Then why do you look ready to kill me?"  
"You lied to me."  
"I-I did?"  
"Why didn't you tell me that Loki messed with you?"  
Oh shit.  
"Because I knew you'd react like this?"  
"Why are you protecting him? He messed with your head and when I saw you crying I knew he had something to do with it!"  
"Sir, he didn't really do anything to me! I reacted in the wrong way!"  
"In the surveillance you said something about seeing his memories. What did you see that's making you protect him? Or maybe this is some kind of mind control and he's making you protect him!"  
I hesitated. I couldn't tell Tony about Loki being a Jotun! Everyone here would use that against him! Well, maybe not Thor but everyone else would. But I couldn't say that this wasn't mind control without a reason!  
"Last night I had a dream that I saw Loki's memories. Turns out, he had made me see them so that I could understand him without him talking about his past."  
"What did you see?" Tony asked angrily.  
"He had been fed a lie his entire life by his father. And It didn't help that Odin clearly favored Thor and liked to put Loki down as much as possible it seemed. So when Loki found out he was adopted, I guess that was the straw that broke the camel's back!"  
Tony growled and began stomping off, but I stopped him. "Tony, please, just do me one favor. Don't hurt Loki, not because of me at least. He did nothing wrong to me, so I'd like to keep peace between us!"  
"Fine, but only because you asked so nicely!"  
"Thank you sir!" I called after him as he stormed out the door. A few minutes later I finished my soup and put my dishes in the dishwasher. It was starting to get late, so I decided to sleep after I apologized to my friend. Of course, a simple I'm sorry wouldn't cut it, I yelled at him for opening up to me! When I got back to his cell, I almost didn't see him.  
He was curled up in a dark area of the container, his legs curled up to his chest and his face buried in his knees. His arms were wrapped almost protectively around his shins, and it hurt me to see him in such a state of sorrow.  
"Loki?" I said quietly, not expecting and answer.  
"What are you doing here (y/n)?"  
I blinked. "That's a silly question! Isn't it obvious? I came to apologize!"  
Loki looked up at me in confusion. "Why are you apologizing?"  
"Because of what I said earlier. That was terribly rude and heartless of me to get so upset with you for showing me your memories. I have no proper excuse either. Can you forgive me?"


	8. 8

Loki stared at me, not saying anything, and I began fearing that maybe I had ruined our friendship. "I understand if you can't forgive me, I just wanted you to know that I truly am sor-"

"I forgive you," he interrupted. Now it was my turn to look surprised! Was he really going to forgive me so easily? 

"You.....do?"

"Yes, I realize that you weren't feeling well at the time. Besides, you're the only one here that seems to care for my well being!"

"Yeah, I guess so," I replied, remembering how Tony had reacted when he found out about our argument. 

"Tell me about your mother," I said, remembering how close he had seemed with the beautiful woman. Loki smiled and I felt my cheeks turn a light shade of pink at the sight. He looked so much younger and kinder when he smiled for real! I enjoyed seeing the real Loki, the one that pulled silly, harmless pranks on people, the one that loved his family unconditionally, that was so determined to get his father's approval no matter how many times he was shot down. I loved that one, I would admit that.

"Her name is Frigga," he said, "she's the kindest person to ever live. She taught me all the tricks I know! Thor may have been Odin's son, but I was her's. She was beautiful too, as I'm sure you saw. When she found out that I knew about what I was, and Odin went into Odinsleep, she did defend his actions, but she never lied to me as Odin had."

"What do you think she's doing now?"

"I don't know. Maybe grieving? They do all believe I'm dead, well, all of them except Thor."

"You know Thor loves you too."

"Does he? Did he tell you that?" he said, doubt lacing his voice.

"Not directly, no," I replied, "but he defended your actions, and tried to convince the others to let him bring you back home."

"He can't do that. I will be killed if he does."

"Why?" I asked, fairly concerned.

"I know we are friends now, but I fear that if I tell you what I've done, you will be put in danger as well."

I was quiet for a while, what was Loki so scared of? Was he being forced to do this?

"You should get some sleep (y/n). It's late," Loki said, bringing our conversation to a close. I nodded and wished him a good night. It had been a long day! There were constant fights again, this time I was the cause of one. I'm glad Loki had forgiven me, I would miss our friendship! He really was a nice guy once he opened up to you, you just had to earn his trust! No wonder his brother seemed to forgive him so easily. Thor had grown up with the kind, benevolent Loki, not the power hungry god the rest of us seemed to believe he was! 

On my way back to my room, I ran into him. Thor was a lot bigger than I previously remembered! His bicep was at least the size of my head!

"Good evening Thor!" I said cheerfully.

"Good evening lady (y/n)! I don't believe we have had the proper introduction," he said.

"No I don't believe we have!" I smiled.

"I assume you are coming from my brother's cell?"

"Yes, I am!"

"How is he? Is he cooperating? Has offered any explanation as to why he's doing this?" Thor lowered his voice to a whisper.

"He's doing fine. As for his cooperation, I believe that we have formed an alliance and he is telling me everything I need to know! Well, except for the exact reason he caused such a ruckus back in Stuttgart."

"Really? He warmed up to you that fast?"

"Well at least I think so! He let me see his memories, which aren't exactly the happiest. What exactly was the relationship between him and your father?"

Thor sighed and guilt filled his eyes, "He and our father never saw eye to eye. Odin always wanted more from Loki, and Loki tried his best to live up to Odin's expectations, but apparently it was never enough. I never really helped either however, something that I regret deeply."

"You know, you can always go talk to him," I tried to cheer him up, "I'm sure the guards will let you in! And if not just come to me and I'll help you out. I'm sure Loki would be happy to see you."

"I'm not so sure anymore, but I would like to speak with him again." Thor smiled sadly and said goodnight, then continued walking down the hall. I watched him go for minute, then turned and continued on my way to my room to get some much needed sleep. Sleep hit me like a train when I flopped ungracefully onto my bed. No one told me that this job would be so exhausting! I remembered when I first told my friend about my new job working for SHIELD, he had seemed so excited! 

"You'll get to see so many bad guys," he had said enthusiastically, "AND you'll get to work with the coolest people ever! You HAVE to tell me all about it!"

"Of course! At least, if it's not top secret. If it is I'll still tell you! But you have to promise that you won't tell ANYONE about it!" I had said though a mouthful of takeout. We always had a weekly get together at my house where we got takeout, watched our favorite movies, and trash talked or gossiped until we passed out. I suddenly became sad when I realized that I would be missing out on our sleepover. I'd have to make it up to him when I got back!


	9. 15

The next morning I awoke to the dreadful sound of an alarm clock.  Groaning, I rolled over and glared at the vile little machine, then proceeded to unplug it.  "Try waking me up now," I sneered, then rolled over and went back to sleep, only to be awoken once more by my phone's alarm.  
"Damn you too," I growled and turned off the blaring noise.  Sighing, I threw off my blankets and slid out of bed, opting to wear a white button up shirt, a pair of black slacks, and my (f/c) shoes.  The walk down to the kitchen was busy as usual, and I found myself swerving to avoid groups of guards and soldiers with varying amounts of gear.   
The kitchen was slightly busy too, members of our team and a few other people I didn't recognize mingled around eating their breakfast.  There was no way I'd be able to make a decent meal with the amount of people inhabiting the room, so I grabbed a couple snack bars and made some instant coffee.  
"Good morning lady (y/n)!" a deep voice behind me greeted.  I turned around and came face to chest with the god of thunder.  
"Good morning Thor!" I replied, backing up so that I could see his face without straining my neck, "You slept well I hope?"  
"Yes, very well!  Did you?"  
"I did!  Did you talk to your brother last night after I left?"  
"No, he did not wish to speak with me."  
"Oh," I said, disappointed.  Thor looked away sadly and I frowned.  Maybe, if he came with me, Loki would be a little more willing to talk to him?  I offered Thor the idea, but he said that Loki was as stubborn as he was mischevious, and me simply being there wouldn't make a difference.  I knew he was right so I reluctantly gave up the hope that I could help them get along again.  "But I'm sure he'd like to see you!  He really enjoys your company," Thor spoke up, seeming to sense my disappointment.  
"Yeah, I think I'll go and talk to him for a bit!" I answered, plastering a smile on my face, "Hey, by the way, if you do manage to convince Director Fury to let you take Loki back to Asgard, what...... what will happen to him?"  
"Well, I don't entirely know.  He may be stripped of his powers for a time, maybe forever, he may be banished, or sent to Jotunheim."  
I hummed and thought about the punishment Loki might receive.  
"You are worried about him."  
"Yes, I am.  I'm not sure how punishments go as far as royalty when it comes to your home."  
"I see.  Don't worry, I will make sure that no harm comes to him!"  
"Thank you!"  
I turned to leave but was quickly pulled into a large hug by my new friend.  "I'm glad he and you are so close!  He's never had friends and I wasn't that kind to him when we were young."  Slowly, I hugged back and told him it was my pleasure to be his friend!  Eventually he let go and I was on my way down to see Loki.  As I walked, I thought about what Thor had said.  I was probably Loki's first friend!  His childhood just seemed to get more and more depressing.  I felt terrible for him!  
After a few minutes I was outside Loki's cell.  The guards in the hall had become accustomed to my frequent visits, and some of them waved when I walked by them.  The woman that had come in the morning prior greeted me by the door, "Good morning Ms. (L/n)!"  
"Good morning Avery!"  
"Going to see Loki again?"  
"Yep, Thor gave me some important information that I have to talk to him about."  
"You know, if I didn't know any better I'd think there's something going on between you two," she laughed.  I felt my face flush and I laughed awkwardly.  Avery stopped laughing and eyed me suspiciously.  
"There isn't actually something going on, right?"  
"What?  No!  I mean, something about him is quite intriguing but no, nothing is going on," I said, partially telling the truth.  
"Okaaay," Avery said, doubt lacing her voice heavily.  
I said goodbye to her and opened the door.  Loki stood with his back facing me again and I stopped a few feet away from the glass walls of his cell.  
"Hello dear (y/n)," he said with his back still turned to me.  
"Hello drama queen," I laughed.  
He turned around with a small smile on his face.  I could tell it was fake, and he seemed tense.  My smile faltered and I quickly became worried.  
"Loki, are you okay?"  
"Yes, why wouldn't I be?"  
"You look really tense and that smile is obviously fake."  
Loki stopped faking his happiness and instantly became serious.  He walked to the wall I stood behind and lowered his voice, "Something is going to happen."


	10. 16

"Something is going to happen."   
That didn't sound good.    
"What's going to happen?" I asked.  
"That I cannot tell you.  All that I can say is that your Russian friend and I are going to have a private chat later and you need to be somewhere safe."  
"Loki you need to tell me what's going on!"  
"I can't!" Loki began raising his voice, "I can't tell you what's going to happen for your own safety.  Please leave and don't come back until you know for a fact that no harm will come to you!"  Fear began creasing his face and I knew that I had no chance in surviving whatever was about to happen if I didn't get out of the way.  Just then, the door opened and Avery came in.  
"Ma'am, Mr. Stark is requesting your presence in Dr. Banner's lab."  
"Okay, tell him I'll be right there!"  
I turned back to Loki and looked at him with concern, "Please don't do anything stupid," I quietly pleaded.  
"I have no say in what's to come."  
I frowned and turned towards the door.  Avery caught me before I left however and she gently grabbed my arm, "What'd he say to you?  You looked worried when I came in."  
"Nothing.  I'm just concerned about his health is all."  
"Oh?  Is he sick?"  
"No, but I don't know anything when it comes to him."  
I pulled away and jogged up to Dr. Banner's lab, passing Natasha on the way.  
"Hello Ms. Romanoff," I said.  She smiled tightly in return and I remembered what Loki had said about them having a chat, so I picked up the pace and began running.  When I got there, I saw Director Fury and Tony Stark already arguing.  
"Yeah let me get your cube back, no muss, no fuss.  What is Phase 2- oh hey (y/n) just in time," Tony said.  
"Just in time for what?" I asked, sensing the angry tension in the room.  A loud clang behind me made me jump and I turned around to see Captain Rogers standing with his arms crossed, a hostile look on his face.  
"Phase 2 is SHIELD uses the cube to make weapons," then he turned to Tony, "Sorry, computer was running a little slow for me."  
I looked down and my eyes widened when they landed on the gun Captain Rogers had tossed onto the table in front of him.  Was that what SHIELD was going to make?!  
"Rogers we gathered everything related to the tesseract," Director Fury turned to Captain Rogers, "This does not mean-"   
"Sorry Nick what?  Were you lying?" Tony interjected.  I knew exactly where this was going, "Guys, stop!  We're never going to-"  
"I was wrong Director," Steve interrupted, "The world hasn't changed a bit."


	11. 11

Thor and Natasha walked into the room a few minutes later and I walked over to them, hoping maybe they could shut the others up.  I was wrong.  
"Did you know about this?" Dr. Banner turned to Natasha.  
"You want to think about removing yourself from this environment Doctor?" she replied wearily, and I remembered that he turned into a monster if he became angry.  That was not something I wanted to be caught up in!  
"I was in Calcutta.  I was pretty well removed," he sneered.  
"Loki is manipulating you-"  
"And you've been doing what exactly?"  
I stared at the two with wide eyes when I realized what Loki had warned me about.  He was going to manipulate Bruce to get him to become a monster which would somehow help him escape!  I had to get to him and convince him to stop, it would only get him in even more trouble!  
"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes," Natasha continued.  
"Yeah but I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little bit twitchy.  And how do we know we can trust her too," Bruce pointed at me accusingly, "She's been hanging out with the freak a lot how do we know she's not with him?"  
"Hey I've been trying to to break up your petty fights!"  
"Yeah, leave (y/n) out of this, alright?  She's done nothing but try to help us."  I smiled gratefully at Tony for helping me out.   
"I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the tesseract to make weapons of mass destruction!" Bruce continued, moving on from his accusation.  Nick Fury glared at Dr. Banner and pointed at Thor.  
"Because of him."  
"Me?" Thor asked, clearly confused.  
"Thor?" I was just as confused.   
"Last year Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge match that leveled a small town," a look of guilt flashed in Thor's eyes, "We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously outgunned."  
Thor quickly became tense and began defending his home, "My people want nothing but peace with your planet!"  
"But you're not the only people out there are you?" Nick continued, "And you're not the only threat.  
"The world's filling up with people who can't be matched.  Who can't be controlled."  
"Like you controlled the cube?" Steve interrupted again.  
Thor spoke up too, "Your work with the tesseract is what drew Loki to it, and his allies," I stared at Thor wide eyed as I realized that Loki's attack in Germany was part of a bigger plan, "It is a signal to all the realms that Earth is ready for a higher form of war."  
Now it was Steve's turn to be confused, "A higher form?"  
Director Fury interrupted him before he could continue though, "You forced our hand, we had to come up with some-"  
"Nuclear deterrent," Tony sneered, "Because that always calms everything right down."  
Director Fury whipped around to face him and glared at the billionaire, "Remind me again how you made your fortune stock?"  
Soon the entire team began bickering and arguing with each other, accusing the other of knowing something or being a traitor.  I tried to stop them but I quickly realized I was going to lose my voice before I could!  If I couldn't stop them from fighting, maybe I'd be able to get to Loki and stop him myself since everyone that I previously thought capable of dealing with him had proved quite the opposite.


	12. 12

I sprinted down the hall to Loki's cell hoping to any god up there that I got to him in time.  A loud boom filled my ears and the hellicarrier shook, knocking me off my feet.  An explosion.  
"Shit," I said, realizing that I might not get to Loki when I wanted to.  I got up and ran faster, dodging guards that were running to the source of the blast, which slowed me down considerably, and I soon found myself taking another more empty route.  "Oh my gods please let me get there before it's too late!"  
A few guards ran down the hall from the direction of Loki's cell and I stopped them.  
"Is Loki alright?  What's going on?" I asked breathlessly.  One of them chuckled evilly and I realized that both guards had bright blue eyes, the same color as Loki's eyes and the stone in his scepter.  
"Oh you've got to be kidding me," dread filled my voice as I realized what was going on.  I turned and ran in the opposite direction, hoping that maybe I could outrun them instead of resorting to hand-to-hand combat.  I knew a little bit of martial arts, but nothing that could protect me from heavily armed and highly trained SWAT members!  However, they caught up to me and I had to fight them.  I swung a punch to one's face, hoping I hit his nose, and kicked the other in his groin when he grabbed me from behind.  His grip loosened and I rolled away from him and tried to sprint away again, only to be grabbed by the wrist and yanked down.  I fell back and hit my head on the ground hard.  Stars mingled at the edges of my vision and I groaned.  Someone grabbed my (h/l) hair and I cried out in pain as he began dragging me down the hall, his friend laughing.  I swung around, my hair still in the attacker's grip, and grabbed the knife sticking out of his black boot.  Without hesitation, I sunk it into his arm, instantly falling to the ground and springing back up.  I turned around to run again, but as if in a movie, I came face to fist with the other guard and fell again, and I felt my eye beginning to bruise and swell.  I tried to get up again, but this time however the man I had stabbed pulled out his gun and aimed it at my head.   
"Stupid little bitch," he said.  My eyes widened and I tried to move away, but was stopped by a wall.  His friend stopped him from pulling the trigger however, and said, "Wait, I think boss will want this one."  
The one I stabbed grinned and nodded, then turned his gun around and hit me hard in the head with the butt of his gun, instantly knocking me out.  
When I woke up, I was being dragged down the hall again.  Either this was a really long hall, or I hadn't been unconscious for very long.  I could only open one eye however, the my left eye was swollen shut and definitely felt very bruised.  A door opened and I was hoisted up nearly to my normal standing height.  My arms slung over both men's shoulders and I recognized the room we were in!  In front of me stood Loki's cell, but instead of the raven haired god inhabiting it, Thor stood glaring at someone next to us.  His eyes flicked to me and his anger was replaced with worry.  
"Lady (y/n)?" he said, eyeing my injuries.  
The person he was originally shooting mental daggers at stepped in front of us.  Loki.  
"We found this one on her way to see you.  We thought you might want to deal with this one yourself.  Sorry she got a bit ruffed up on our way," one of the men chuckled.  
A look of shock and guilt flashed in Loki's eyes, but it was fleeting.  He grinned and said, "Ah yes, my dearest (y/n)!  Thank you for bringing her to me," he turned to the rest of the people in the room, "You all may leave, I have some private matters I need to tend to!"  
I was dropped to the floor like a doll and groaned in pain as my head throbbed.  Everything ached in my body and all of my energy was drained after fighting and getting knocked unconscious.  Once everyone in the room was gone, Loki knelt by my side and gently picked me up and propped my back up against a nearby wall.  
"Are you alright?" he asked frantically, cupping my cheek in one hand.  
"Absolutely peachy," I said sarcastically.  
"I-I-I'm so sorry!  I didn't mean for this to happen to you!  Why didn't you go somewhere safe like I had told you?!"  
"I did, but everyone there began fighting and I think it got blown up."  
Loki looked at me sadly and I held the hand on my cheek, "Loki, I'm okay!  Just a bit beat up that's all," then I turned my attention to Thor, "What are you going to do with your brother?"  
"I don't entirely know yet," Loki replied with a hint of evil.  
"Loki please promise me you won't hurt him!  He's a good man really!  He's been trying to get you out of here this whole time!"  
"Are you well lady (y/n)?" Thor called out upon hearing his name.  
"I could be worse my friend!" I replied.  My head started spinning again and black spots started clouding my vision, "Okay, maybe not!"  
Loki looked at me with concern and said, "(Y/n) are you feeling alright?"  
"I think I'm passing out again.  They must have hit me harder than I thought!"  
The spots became bigger and every sound was muffled and distant as I felt myself going unconscious again.  'Boy is this embarrassing' I thought before everything went black.


	13. 13

When I finally woke up after passing out for the second time that day, the room was full of SWAT members.  The cage that had held Loki and then Thor was now gone, and dread settled in my gut as I realized what exactly had happened.  Director Fury knelt beside me examining my injuries.  He looked even more upset than usual!  
"Director?  What happened?"  
"Oh good, you're awake," he replied somewhat sarcastically, "I was about to ask you the same thing."  
"I don't know, I was attacked on my way here and knocked unconscious.  Where's Thor, is he okay?"  
"We don't know."  
"Damnit."  
My eyes flicked around the room trying to take in everything going on and trying to piece together what I had missed.  I looked next to me and my eyes widened when I recognized the bloody form of Agent Coulson.  
"C-Coulson?" I asked weakly.  A large gun sat smoking in his lap and his eyes were closed, a small trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth down to his chin.  
"Agent Coulson?!"  
"He's gone," Fury said.  A lump formed in my throat and I held back the urge to cry.  We were never friends, exactly, but he was a close acquaintance of mine.  I knew exactly who had killed him too, causing me further pain.  Nick stood up and offered me his hand, signalling that it was time for me to leave and go somewhere safer.  I accepted his help and he slung my arm over his shoulder to help me out of the room.  As we left, I looked back at Coulson's body one last time and tears welled up in my eyes.  We lost a good man that day.  
"Where are we going?  I can probably make it from here," I asked while we were walking down the hall.  
"I'm taking you to the infirmary.  You're pretty beaten up and you may have a concussion."  
"Yeah I can make it there okay.  Thanks for your help Director."  
"No problem (l/n)."  
I let my arm fall to my side and gave him a weak smile.  He patted my shoulder and strode down the hall back to the room.  I watched him for a minute then turned as well and walked to the infirmary.  
The small clinic was full of guards and soldiers being tended to, and I almost turned and left before a nurse came up to me.  
"(Y/n) (l/n)?"  
"Yes, that's me."  
"Fury said you'd be coming, but he said you'd be unconscious."  
"Yeah, just woke up."  
She smiled and began leading me down the large room to an empty bed.  Along the way, I recognized a few people.  Avery sat on one bed with a bandage wrapped around her arm and a few stitches on her forehead.  
"Avery!  Are you okay?"  
"Ms. (l/n)!" she stood up and looked at me worriedly, "what happened?"  
"Uh-uh, you first.  What happened to you?"  
"Oh, just got a little roughed up is all.  How about you?"  
"I got jumped in the hall.  I managed to stab one of them in the arm."  
"I think I saw that guy!  He has a lot of stitches on his arm and was talking about how he didn't remember how he got it!"  
"What?  Where is he?"  
"A few beds down.  Last name is Jordans."  
"Thanks Avery!"  
"No problem!"  
I joined my nurse's side and we walked to the man's bed.  He sat on his bed examining the injury I gave him.   
"Jordans?" I asked quietly.  
He turned his face to look at me and I knew it was him.  However, instead of having blue eyes like before, his were a dark brown.  
"Hi, uh, do I know you?"  
So he was being controlled then.  
"No, I don't think so.  You were under mind control when we......met."  
"Oh.  I don't suppose you any idea of what happened to my arm?"  
"About that," I said, feeling slightly guilty for stabbing a man that had no idea what he was doing.  I went on to explain what had happened and that I was the one that gave him that nasty injury.  His eyes widened when he found out that he had nearly killed me, and he apologized profusely.  I made it clear to him that I bore no hard feelings to the poor man, and my nurse eventually dragged me away to treat my injuries.  
"Yeah you've definitely got a concussion.  Don't sleep for the next 24 hours, it could mess with your head!"  
"Yes ma'am."  
"Here's some ibuprofen for the pain, and an ice pack for your eye.  Apply pressure to it on and off for the rest of the day, when it melts let me know and I'll get more."  
"Thank you, will do!"  
The woman nodded and left to tend to other patients, so I eventually went on my way back to my room.  As soon as I opened the door I flung myself on to my bed and curled up in a little ball.  I knew I wasn't supposed to sleep, but the urge was almost too much for me to handle!  Sighing, I grabbed my phone and balanced my ice pack on my eye.  Maybe I should call (b/f/n)!


	14. 14

(B/f/n)'s face filled my phone's screen and I smiled, still balancing the ice pack on my eye.  
"(Y/n)!" he grinned, but his smile quickly fell, "(Y/n)?  What happened to you?"  
"Er, long story.  I don't think I'll be able to make it to our weekly sleepover.  Something came up and everything became really complicated.  I'll make it up to you as soon as I get back!"  
"That's okay, I kinda expected that we'd have to postpone it.  Moving on, what's been going on?  What's Loki like?  Is he really bad?  What about the rest of the team? And what happened to you?"  
"Okay, okay, slow down," I laughed, "One question at a time!"  
"Fine, what's Loki like?"  
"He's actually not that bad!  At least with me," I said, turning a light shade of pink.  
"Really?!  He tried to kill you last time I saw him!"  
"Yeah, I guess something changed!  He even helped me out when this happened," I gestured to my black eye.  
"Wow," he said, "what happened anyway?  I know you said it was a long story but I really want to know!"  
Sighing, I reluctantly gave in and told him about the attack.  He listened with wide eyes and an open mouth.  "You have to promise to not tell anyone, okay?" I told (b/f/n).  
"I promise!"  
"Good!"  
There was a knock on my door and Tony's voice came from behind it.  "Ah, gotta go (b/f/n), boss needs to talk."  
"Okay, I'll talk to you later!"  
I hung up and opened my door.  Tony stood in the hall with a worried look on his face that he was obviously trying to cover up.  
"Hey boss what can I do for you?"  
"Can I come in?  I need to talk to you."  
"Yeah, sure," I stepped aside and he walked in, gesturing for me to sit on my bed.  I did so and he sat in my desk chair with his arms crossed.  I felt like a child about to get lectured by her dad!  
"I heard that you got jumped while trying to get to Loki?"  
"Okay, Mr. Stark, it's not what you think!  I know the others believe that I betrayed you guys and joined him, but I didn't!  In fact, he told me to stay out of this and get somewhere safe but I didn't listen to him and when I figured out what he was trying to do, I left to try to stop him!  I swe-"  
"Hey, hey, hey, it's okay, I believe you!  That's not where I was going with this though."  
"Oh?"  
"Actually I came here to tell you that I'm sending you back to New York.  I heard about what happened to you so you'd likely be a target if there's another attack.  The best place I can send you so that I can keep you safe and keep an eye on you is back in Stark tower so that's where I'm going to send you!"  
"What?"  
"(Y/n) it was a team decision."  
I sighed and massaged my temple, realizing I didn't have much of a choice in the matter.  Tony told me to pack my bag while he got a plane ready for me and told his girlfriend that I'd be staying with her until this whole fiasco was over.  A few hours later, the jet was ready and I stood on the runway saying goodbye to my new friends.  
"See you guys soon," I said, shaking hands with Captain Rogers.  He smiled and bid me farewell as I boarded the private jet.  The flight back to New York would take about 10 hours, so I would have time to catch up on the sleep I had missed that week, except for the fact that I wasn't allowed to sleep for the next 24 hours.  That didn't stop my brain from conjuring up terrible thoughts, I was worried sick about Thor and Coulson's body kept popping up in my head.   
I hugged my knees to my chest and tried to slow my breathing.  A flight attendant walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder.  
"Are you okay?" she asked.  
"Yeah, yeah just worried about my friends."  
"Do you need me to get you anything?"  
"Uh, just a cold cup of water would be great."  
The tall woman nodded and left, leaving me to my thoughts again.  It was dark outside my window so we'd likely be arriving soon.  The flight attendant came back a minute later holding a cold bottle of water in her well manicured hand, and I thanked her for it.  She sat down in the seat in front of me and watched me for a minute before asking, "So, what happened to you?"  
"Hm?" I asked with a mouthful of cold water.  
"How come Tony Stark sent you back without him?  And what happened to your eye?"  
I swallowed my water and told her about Loki, my meetings with him, and the attack.  She listened intently and told me that having a villain as powerful as Loki care about me so much was a good thing, "They'll make sure you're safe!" she had said.  
"Yeah, you're right.  Whether or not I'll listen to him is another story," I said.  She smiled and looked at her watch.  
"We'll be landing soon so you might want to start getting ready."  
"Thank you."  
She nodded and walked off.  I buckled my seat belt and a few minutes later we started our descent.  Out of my window I could see New York's lights contrasted against the dark.  We landed half an hour later, and I took a taxi from the airport to Stark tower.   
Tony's girlfiend-a tall ginger haired woman named Pepper-met me at the door.  She smiled when I slid out of the car and pulled my suitcase out of the trunk.   
"You must be (y/n)!" she said and extended her hand.  
"Yes, I am.  Pepper, right?" I shook her hand.  
"I am!  It's a pleasure to meet you!"  
"Pleasure to meet you too!"  
She lead me inside and we took an elevator up a few floors.  She told me about the building, where everything was, what floor to go to for which room, and how to use a few of Tony Stark's appliances to the building.  "If you need anything, don't hesitate to let Jarvis know and either he, or I will try to take care of it."  
"Jarvis?" I asked.  
A slightly robotic man's voice filled the elevator, "I am Jarvis.  It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. (L/n)!"  
"What in the name of Philadelphian mongeese...?" I said under my breath.  Pepper laughed and the voice, Jarvis, chuckled too.  
"Is he like an Alexa?" I asked.  
"Somewhat.  Mr. Stark programmed me to act as his online Butler.  If you need anything please let me know and I will see what I can do for you."  
"Okay, uh, thanks!"  
"You're welcome Ms. (L/n)!"  
The elevator dinged a few seconds later and its doors slid open and Pepper led me down the hall to my room.  She opened the door and said, "Here's your room!  I hope it suits you!"  
"It's great Ms. Potts, thank you!"  She smiled and I wished her a good night.  After she left I closed the door behind me and sighed deeply.  I was exhausted!  Unfortunately for me, I couldn't go to sleep, otherwise my brain could be damaged further.  I flopped on the bed and thought about how I could entertain myself until morning.  
"Hey Jarvis?"  
"Yes Ms. (L/n)?"  
"Does this place have a library?"


	15. 15

The library in Stark tower was huge, and filled to the brim with all of my favorites and classics. When I finally found my way there, thanks to Jarvis' guidance, I had grinned and instantly began running through the maze of shelves. It took a while to find all the books I wanted to read while I waited for morning to come, but when I finally found enough to keep me entertained I found a comfy arm chair to curl up in and popped my headphones into my ears to listen to some music while I read. I sat there all night and read until my brain couldn't process anything anymore out of exhaustion. At about 9 am, I looked out of a nearby window and saw that the sun was already high in the sky. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, amazed that I had managed to stay up for so long! I couldn't wait for this 24 hours to be over, I was exhausted! My stomach grumbled loudly and I looked down at it in annoyance.

"Alright, alright, let's go get some food," I said as I put my books in their places.  Just as I shelved the last one, I heard a voice say,  _Which one was your favorite?_   I jumped, not expecting anyone to be in here with me, although I quickly realized it was likely just Jarvis.  "Sorry Jarvis, what?" 

"I didn't say anything Miss."

"Well then who did....?"

_I did my dear._

I jumped again as I heard the voice again.  It sounded so familiar, but my sleep deprived brain couldn't fully recognize the voice.  "Is someone else in here with me?" I asked, although the voice sounded like it was in my head.

_Not technically, no._

"My god I'm hearing voices now."

I slumped into a nearby chair and massaged my head; could a lack of sleep for 24 hours really have such an effect on me?  I asked Jarvis if that were possible, but he said it shouldn't be.  

"Then I'm insane!" I laughed disdainfully.

_No (y/n), it's me!  Loki!  Have you already forgotten my voice?_

I froze.  

_Have you really forgotten the extent of my abilities?_

"I er, I kinda hit my head.  Really hard.  If you don't remember, and I haven't slept for 24 hours."

_Ah, I see._

"Yeah."

An awkward silence passed between me and the voice in my head, and I still wasn't entirely convinced that it was Loki speaking to me.  Then all the events from yesterday came crashing into my head, and I was overcome with worry.  "Loki where are you?  Are you okay?  Where's Thor?  Is he okay?!  You didn't kill him too did you?!  Why were those guards' eyes glowing blue like yours, and why did they match that damn scepter of yours?  What the hell is going on?!"

_(Y/n) calm down.  I'm fine, as for my whereabouts, you will see me again soon I assure you.  However it won't be under good circumstances.  As for Thor, I think you know exactly what I did to him._

"Why?" I asked, a lump forming in my throat, "why did you kill him?  Why did you  _kill_ Coulson?!  Why are you doing this?!"

 _I HAVE TO!_ he shouted in my head,  _I didn't want to, really, I just....I'm no longer who I used to be.  Occasionally I am, during the times I'm with you mostly, but the rest of the time I am someone else.  Someone dangerous.  That is the man you will see today, and likely for the rest of our lives if everything plays out according to my plan.  I just wanted to say that whatever happens, whether it be to you or me, I am deeply sorry._

"Loki if the price of your plan is as high as it sounds to be,  _please_ just forget it!  You can come and stay undercover with me!  I can help you!"

Silence.  He wasn't there anymore.  Panic settled into my gut and suddenly I wasn't hungry anymore.  It was 10:00 now.  Pepper should be up, so I'd tell her about my conversation with Loki, then I would call Tony and warn him.  He'd likely know what to do!  

"Jarvis, is Ms. Potts up right now?"

"Yes she is."

"Where is she?"

"She's in the kitchen.  Would you like me to tell you where it is?"

"Yes that would be extremely helpful."

I took off out of the library and sprinted down the halls as Jarvis quickly gave me directions on where to go.  Sure enough, Pepper was sat in the large kitchen with her breakfast sat in front of her and phone in her hand.  I burst into the kitchen and she jumped, "Oh!  Good morning!  Are you okay?" she asked, noticing the panic and exhaustion on my face.

"It's Loki!" was all I managed to get out through my heavy panting

Her eyes widened and she helped me get to a chair before I collapsed.  "What happened?!  Where is he?!" she asked frantically.

"I'm not entirely sure, and I know this is going to sound crazy and you're likely not going to want to trust me after I say this, but you have to!"  Pepper scanned my face with confusion.

"Okay, slow down and breathe.  Have you even eaten yet?"  I shook my head no and she leapt up from her seat and grabbed a granola bar for me.  I took it gratefully and began eating it.

"Okay, now, what is going on?"

"You aren't going to want to trust me once I say this, but if you and Tony want to defeat Loki, you have to.  Loki and I are close friends."  Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open as she stared at me with disbelief written on her face.

"You  _need_ to listen to me!  Don't say anything, just hear me out.  Loki contacted me this morning and told me was going to make a move  _very soon,_ like today soon.  I'm not sure what he's going to do, but it didn't sound good at all!  He said that he has become a very dangerous man, and that I'd be seeing this man today, and that he was deeply sorry for anything that happens.  I don't know what he's planning, but we need to warn the others!"

Pepper stared at me in shock and after a few seconds she agreed and said she'd call Tony immediately.  I thanked her and told her I'd try to contact Director Fury.  Pepper ran off to call her boyfriend and warn him about Loki and I pulled out my phone to call Director Fury.  After a few rings, he picked up and his aggravated filled my ears.  "(L/n), you better have something important to tell me because I am NOT willing to waist my time right now!"

"Of course Director!"

"Well then spit it out!  I don't have all day.  We're still trying to get this damn helicarrier working properly again."

"Loki's about to make his next move, sir!"

"He's what?"

"Loki, he's about to strike again!  I'm not sure where exactly, but I think he's coming here, to New York."

"Shit," I heard him mutter, "Keep me updated!" he shouted before hanging up the phone.  "Miss (l/n), Mr. Stark has requested that you to go to your room until he comes back," Jarvis said over the intercom.

"What?  Why?"

"Safety reasons," he said, "It's only until he comes back Miss, which shouldn't be very long."

I reluctantly gave in and jogged down to my room.  Maybe I'd be able to catch up on some sleep while I waited for Tony to come back, however based on the events currently happening, it was doubtful that I'd be able to calm down enough to even take a quick nap.  When I got there, I closed the door behind me and took deep breaths to calm down my racing heart.  What the hell was Loki planning?  Why was he even doing this if he knew nothing good was going to come out of this for him?  My mind was reeling as I fell onto my bed with a huge sigh.  What the hell had I gotten myself into?  A loud whirring sound came from outside and I knew Tony was back, however before I got up from my bed to go greet him and fill him in in my conversation with Loki, the door made a loud click sound.

"No, no, no, no, no!" I scrambled off my bed and desperately tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge.  I was locked in.


	16. 16

"Jarvis please unlock this door now!  Tony needs my help!"

"I apologize Ms. (l/n), but Mr. Stark has ordered me to not let you out of your room as it is unsafe for you and Ms. Potts."

Anger began bubbling inside me but was quickly replaced with fear when I began hearing a loud commotion from upstairs.  Loki was here as well.  "Jarvis please!  I'm likely the only one that can get Loki under control you have to let me out!"

"I'm sorry Miss, but I'm forbidden to disobey Mr. Stark."

"Fine," I growled.  Frantically, I searched around my room for anything I could use to either pry my door open, or bust it down, but found virtually nothing!  As I continued searching, something fell by my window and I screamed in horror!  Was that Tony that had just fallen past my window?!

"Jarvis."

 _"_ Yes Ms. (l/n)?"

"Please tell me that wasn't Tony that just fell."

"Unfortunately it was."  Loki had just killed another person I cared about.  I was starting to wonder if his feelings for me were just a ploy to gain my trust.  All of those memories he had shown me, were they even real?!  Did everything I had done for him mean nothing?!  Where were the others?!  My head was reeling and I felt sick.

"Oh my god," I said, tears threatening to spill.  Something else flew by and I jumped in surprise.

"What the hell was that?!"

"That was Mr. Stark's suit."

"What?!"  I ran to my window and peered out.  Sure enough, no more than two seconds later, the red and gold suit flew by once again, this time piloted by none other than Anthony Edward Stark!  I cheered, overwhelmed with relief that the suit had gotten to him on time!  However, I couldn't celebrate for too long.  I still had to get out of my room!  The others would hopefully be here soon to help out, but at the moment it was only Tony, and he couldn't fight Loki alone even with the armor.  Despite not having powers, I still knew what Loki could do, which could prove to be valuable information to use against him.  I knew why Tony had locked me in here though.  He didn't want me to put myself in danger.  Again.  But I had to help him!  I had let myself trust Loki and even fall for him, so I had to make up for my mistakes!  But how was I going to get out of my room?    

Seeing nothing I could use easily I settled on my desk chair.  I picked it up and swung it at the door as hard as I could, but all the only easily visible damage dealt was dealt to my poor seat as a leg broke off.  "Shit," I muttered.  However, upon closer inspection, a crack had formed on my door!  Maybe, if I used the now slightly mangled furniture as a battering ram, I could cause enough damage to eventually escape!  I picked up the chair again and ran at the door.  Unfortunately, I didn't think my plan through and crumbled to the ground as the wind got knock out of me.  I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to get my lungs to work properly again.

_(Y/n), are you okay?  
_

Loki.  His voice sounded distant and broken though.

"I'm....fine....dick wad."

_I'm s....sorry_

I groaned and swore as I got up.  Loki said something else, but it came out muffled and incomprehensible.  As much as I hated to admit it, I felt comforted when I heard his voice.  It never sounded evil when he spoke to me, even though it was likely just to gain my affections.  I picked up my chair and with more caution this time, ran into the door again.  I did so until I was satisfied with the damage I had dealt, and after a few swift kicks there was a large crack.  The fourth time I kicked it, I screamed as my foot went through the door and up to my shin!

"Holy shit," I muttered, admiring my work.  I pulled my leg back in, wincing as I tried to get as few splinters as possible, and kicked again, until there was a large enough hole for me to climb through.  Once I was out in the hallway, I turned around and examined what I'd done.

"Oh Tony is going to kill me for that."  How was I going to explain to him that I kicked through a door to help him even though he had locked me in there to keep me from doing that?  I had no time to worry about that though, large crashes and screams could be heard from outside, and I knew that Loki's plans were running just as he wanted them to. 

"Jarvis, where is Loki?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that."

"Dammit!  Where's the elevator?"

"Down the hall on your right."

"Thanks Jarvis!"

If he wouldn't tell me where Loki was exactly, then he could at least tell me where the elevator was.  I knew he was up likely in Stark's bar area, since it had the best view of New York so that was the best place to watch your army destroy an entire city.  Likely the elevator opened right into it, so finding it wouldn't bee a problem!  I took off running down the hall to where Jarvis had directed me and sure enough, there was the elevator.  A large boom shook the hall, and I knew I didn't have much time to get to Loki before it was too late!  The elevator doors opened and I ran in, frantically pressing the button to the floor above as the doors closed.  When they opened again, I was greeted with a terrifying sight.

The large windows in the room were shattered, allowing cool air to blow in.  Terrifying creatures on machines that slightly resembled motorcycles flew around outside destroying anything and everything, and watching it all unfold was Loki.  He stood on Tony's landing platform in his full body armor, helmet and all, and grinned evilly at all of the chaos.  I almost wanted to turn around and go back to my room, but that wasn't a choice for me.  I had to stop him.  I had let myself fall for his game, and now I had to stop it.

"Loki!" I shouted, walking towards him.  He whipped around and his expression changed, causing me to hesitate.  For a minute his eyes flashed from blue to green and he winced, as if in pain.  He looked back at me, and his eyes were no longer the fluorescent blue that his scepter glowed with.  They were a beautiful emerald green! 

"(Y/n)," he said, a look of shock and concern filled his face as he saw my pissed and hurt expression.

"You need to stop this," I said, pointing at the destruction his army was causing.  He looked at New York, sadness and fear filling his features.  He looked back at me and I felt the urge to hug him, despite all that he was doing.

"I...I can't!"

The more I studied him; his body language, his expressions, the way there was a shake to his voice when he spoke to me now, and the way his eyes watered up when he saw the damage his army was doing, the more I realized that he was indeed being controlled.

"You don't want any of this, do you?"

Before he had the chance to respond, however, there was a loud thump behind me and I whipped around.  Thor!  He was alive!  "Loki!" he shouted angrily.  Loki's eyes flashed again, and they went back to blue.  Dread filled my gut as I lost him again.

"Turn off the tesseract or I'll destroy it!" Thor threatened.

"You can't!  There is no stopping it," Loki aimed his scepter at Thor and my eyes widened with terror, "There is only the war!"

"So be it," Thor replied, much to my dismay.  Loki lunged at Thor and the two fought for what seemed like hours.  Feeling useless I searched for anything I deemed possibly useful, and found a long metal rod.  I picked it up and turned around to see Thor shoot a bolt of lightning at his brother.  There was no way I'd be able to fight in that.  Loki fired a bolt of blue light at Thor, but he blocked it and it hit the ground a few feet from me.  The floor began falling away and the large A that was mounted on the side of the landing fell to the ground.  The two brothers didn't care though, as they continued to fight each other viciously.  The Quinjet flew above us and for a moment I was filled with relief, until I realized that they were going to shoot.

"NO!" I shouted, trying to get their attention, but it was too late.  They began firing and I felt frozen as I only watched on as Loki shot one of their wings.  The plane began to go down and the blast knocked me back.  I stumbled a few feet from the explosion and tripped over a piece of rubble and fell right over the edge.  

 


	17. 17

I screamed as I fell over the broken balcony, and my hands flew out to grab on to something,  _anything._   They managed to grasp a broken pole sticking out of the concrete and I held on for dear life.  Thor an Loki were fighting harder than ever, and the Quinjet flew around us, smoking and spewing flames as it spun out of control.  More than once I feared that it would hit me!  Finally it was gone, but I was still dangling over a drop that would certainly kill me, and the two brothers were too busy to pay any attention to me.  I tried to pull myself up, but found it was nearly impossible.

"Okay," I said, "If I get out of this alive, I promise I'll start going to the gym more!"

Above me, Thor and Loki had seemingly stopped their fighting briefly, and I could hear Thor asking his brother if this was what he wanted.  "Look at this," he said angrily, "Look around you!  You think this madness will end with your rule?"

I had managed to pull myself up a bit by now, and lay with my chest just barely above the floor as I watched Loki look around at all of the destruction.  Even from my view, I could see his eyes flashing wildly between blue and green, and I was surprised Thor didn't notice.  

"It's too late," Loki hissed at his brother, "It's too late to stop it."

"No, we can!  Together."  Loki looked at his brother with mock sympathy, and his eyes settled on blue.

"Loki no!" I cried out, but it was too late.  He stabbed Thor and sneered, "Sentiment."  Thor got back up and they began fighting again.  I tried to pull myself up more, but instead I felt myself slipping back off the edge.  I clawed feverishly at the floor around me to try to gain some friction, but it was useless.  I looked back up to try to get one of the brothers' attention, but what I saw instead made my heart drop.  Thor threw Loki onto the ground, then Loki rolled off the side of the building.

"LOKI!" I screamed.  Thor's head whipped to face me, and his eyes widened as he saw me begin slipping backwards again.  I clawed at the ground again as Thor ran to my aid, but as all things today it seemed, it was too late as I slipped over the edge.  My stomach dropped as I fell and I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for impact.  Impact came, but not nearly as hard or as painful as I had imagined.  In fact, I could feel a pair of arms wrapped around me.  I opened my eyes and came face to face with a horrifying creature!

It's face resembled a skull, but with more grotesque features and small, evil looking eyes.  The thing hissed at me and I screamed as I clung tighter to whomever was holding me.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" I shrieked.

"A chitauri," a familiar voice answered.  My eyes widened and I whipped around to face the person holding me.  LOKI.  

"YOU!"

"Hello (y/n)."

I didn't know whether or not to be absolutely thrilled that he was alive, or to throw him off of whatever flying machine we were on.

"You nearly sent me into cardiac arrest by pulling that stunt!  WHILE I WAS DANGLING ABOVE NEW YORK NO LESS!"

"Many apologies my dear, I promise I'll try not to scare you like that again!"

I looked up at him and met his eyes.  Blue.  Damn!  At least he didn't seem to want me dead like he did everyone else. 

"Loki please put me back on the ground."

"It's too dangerous down there!"

"Please!"

He rolled his eyes and the chitauri aimed us down.  We landed in a quieter area and Loki helped me off.  My legs turned to jelly as soon as they touched the ground, however, and I would have collapsed if Loki hadn't caught me.  He sat me down gently and checked over my face.

"I-I'm okay Loki, just a bit dazed and in shock."

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" he asked, there was more concern in his voice and I looked up at him and saw green eyes.  I smiled gratefully and said, "Yes, I'll be fine.  Just please don't go back out there!  Call the chitauri off and stop this!   _Please!_ "

"My dear you know I can't do that," he said sadly, then jumped back onto the flying machine and flew off after apologizing sadly.  It frustrated me that I could only watch all of this chaos unfold and not do anything!  It made me wish I had some unique ability to help everyone instead of watching from the sidelines.  Hell I couldn't even properly shoot a gun!  However, I could probably help civilians.  No one said that I had to fight the aliens directly to keep people safe, I could help civilians instead.  Making up my mind to run back and get people to safety, I got back on my feet.  I was shaky at first but eventually got my legs working again and ran back.

As soon as I got back to all of the excitement, I saw people in need of help.  I picked up a sturdy pole among the debris and ran up to a man whose leg was stuck under a large slab of concrete.  I slid the pole under the slab and propped it up against another piece of debris to use as leverage.  

"Okay, on the count of three, I'm going to push this pole down and you need to pull your leg out.  Understand?"  The man nodded and I counted to three.  When I pushed down, the slab was lifted up and the man pulled his leg out.  His ankle was covered in blood and was likely broken, so I helped him to his feet and slung his arm over my shoulder as I helped him limp to somewhere safer.  There were a group of evacuation officers and EMS personnel nearby helping people get to safety, so we went over to them.  A few medical professionals got the man from me and helped him sit somewhere so that they could tend to his injuries.  I turned to go back and get more people over, but an officer stopped me.

"Ma'am where are you going?"

"There are more people over there who need help so I'm going to help them!"

"You can't it's not safe there!"

"Exactly!"

Before he could say anything else, I sprinted past him and back over to the other victims.  I picked up my pole from where I left it and helped anyone else I could, and eventually the officer gave up on trying to stop me.  I made so many trips back and forth between the damaged buildings and the evacuation area that some of the officers just assumed I was part of the rescue team, even though I lacked a uniform!  On one of my last trips, I found a little boy crying and looking around disoriented.  I recognized him as the little boy a mother I had helped earlier was frantically looking for.  I ran over to him and knelt to his level.  He was around eight with curly red hair and bright green eyes.  Small scrapes and dirt covered his cheeks and his tears made small tracks through the mess on his face.

"Hey honey, are you Robin Fletcher?" I asked, remembering the name his mother had said after showing me his picture.

"Yes," he said, looking at me distrustfully.

"Oh thank god.  I helped your mom earlier and she was looking for you!  She's extremely worried about you and asked me to get you to her as soon as I found you."

He still didn't trust me so I told him her name, hoping that would be enough.  His eyes lit up and he said, "That's my mom!  You know where she is?!"

"Yes, I do, and I need you to come with me so that I can get you back to her."  He nodded and I grabbed his hand as we started walking back to his mother.  Although, halfway there, he fell and cried out in pain.  I stopped and looked back at him, feeling my panic rise as we likely didn't have much time until a chitauri noticed us.

"What?  What's wrong?"

"My leg, it got cut by a piece of sidewalk earlier" Robin said, and pointed to a large gash in his shin.

"Shit, how did I not see that," I said under my breath, "I'm going to carry you the rest of the way, okay?"   Robin nodded and I picked him up.  He was surprisingly light for a boy his age, and I found myself able to hold him with one arm.  I began jogging down the road back to the evacuation area where his mom was likely a frantic mess.  Not that I blamed her!  While I ran back, I heard and felt a large explosion behind us, and more screams of civilians in danger.  I turned around to see how much damage there was and swore under my breath.  Robin tensed in my arms and he screamed, "Look out!"

I whipped around and managed to block a strike from one of the chitauri with the pole I had forgotten I held in my hand.

"Holy mother of-" I shrieked, but didn't get to finish the swear as an arrow came out of nowhere and nailed the horrifying creature in the neck.  It shrieked in pain and anger as it clawed at the small weapon, and I used its distraction to my advantage as I slammed the pole into its head, killing it instantly.

"Either you've got a pretty strong hit, or these freaks are easy to kill," a man perched on top of a nearby van joked.  He had short, dirty blonde hair.  He wore a leather vest with a quiver of arrows strapped to his back, and a large bow in his hand.

"Er, thanks.  For the arrow and the insinuation that I might be strong," I said.  I was surprised at how nonchalant I sounded, maybe the shock was getting to my head.

"No problem!"  He eyed the small boy I held tightly in my arms, and noticed how tightly he was gripping my shirt and hair.

"Is he yours?" the man asked.

"Nope, I helped his mom earlier and I just found him."

"He okay?"

"He's got a nasty gash in his leg so I'm getting him to some medical personnel and his mom."

The man hopped off the van and jogged over to us, making sure there were no aliens coming to attack us.  

"Hey kiddo, you okay?" he asked in a soft tone.  Robin didn't look at him and only clung tighter to me, which I wouldn't have minded if he were pulling out my hair.  I winced slightly and the man noticed.  "Hey, little dude, I think you're hurting this nice lady so why don't you loosen up a bit on the hair grip."

Robin's grip loosened and I heard him mumble an apology into the crook of my neck.  I looked at the man gratefully and said, "Thanks uh....?"

"Barton.  Clint Barton."

"Thanks Clint."

"No problem!"

There was what sounded like an explosion above us and we looked up, horrified by the sight we were met with.  Huge worm like creatures began spilling out of what looked like a tear in the sky!

"HOLY SHIT," I said, utterly terrified.  Clint grabbed my shoulders and forced my attention on him.  "Look, lady, you and this kid need to get too safety, NOW.  I have a feeling things are only going to get worse from here on so you need to leave.  I know the guy behind all this and let me tell you, he does NOT play nice!"

"Yeah, I know him too, so I'm STAYING."

"You what?  How do you know him?" suddenly a look of recognition flitted across his face, "Hey weren't you the chick dangling off of the tower?"

"Yes I was," I shouted as I began running back to get help.  Probably not the best way to end a conversation, but now was nt the best time to have one in the first place.  When I got back to the evacuation center, Robin's mother saw me return with her son in my arms and she rushed over to me, plucking the small boy from my arms and hugging him tightly.

"Oh my god Robin!" she cried as he wrapped his arms tightly around her and began crying tears of relief into her shoulder.  She pulled me into a bone crushing hug and said tearfully, "Thank you so much for finding him!  How can I repay you?"

I hugged her back and replied, "By getting his leg checked out.  He scratched it pretty badly back there.  Other than that nothing, just get out of here and stay safe!"  The woman hugged me tighter, pecked my cheek and thanked me profusely again before walking over to some EMS people.  I was relieved to see them reunited, but I knew my job wasn't done yet.  There were still more people who needed help.


	18. 18

Finally I became too exhausted to keep running back and forth between the destruction and evacuation area, so I made one more run before stopping to get myself taken care of.  I was still in quite a bit of shock, and I had gained lots of scrapes, bruises, and gashes on various parts of my body from trying to keep injured people from getting attacked by chitauri and getting hit by falling rubble and debris.  At one point I was so exhausted that I had trouble blocking one of the chitauri's blows, and its claws raked through my shoulder!  If part of a building hadn't hit it, the girl I was helping and I likely wouldn't have made it out alive!  As soon as I got back to the evacuation area I let the EMS take care of the girl while I found somewhere out of the way to rest.  Just as I had closed my eyes to calm myself down, I heard someone approach me.  They laid a hand on my shoulder and I opened one eye, slightly frustrated that someone was disturbing me.

"I'm sorry but I can't make anymore runs, I am way too exhausted," I said to the figure

"I know," they said, they sounded like a woman, "I just saw that nasty looking gash in your arm and came over to check on you."

Both eyes were open now and I looked at the large amount of blood soaking through my shirt.  "Oh, forgot that was there," I said.  The woman ignored my comment and got closer to my shoulder to examine it better.  Then she took out a pair of scissors from a first aid box nest to here and cut off my sleeve.  I looked at her with confusion, but decided not to say anything as this was likely necessary.  She took out a pair of alcohol wipes and said, "This may sting a bit so brace yourself."  I gulped.

The woman began wiping off the blood on my wound and I hissed in pain, "I thought you said it was only going to sting a bit!"

"That may have been an understatement."

"Yeah no kidding!"  Tears were welling up in my eyes as she continued to clean the large gash in my shoulder, and I tried my hardest to hold them in.  Finally she was done and she put the pads in a plastic bag as well as her now bloody gloves.  She slipped on a new pair and pulled out some gauze pads and a large bandage after throwing away the old materials and began dressing my shoulder.  When she was done, she pulled away and I admired her handiwork. 

"Thank you for that!  I don't know how long I would've gone without realizing how bad that was."

"No problem, and thanks for helping out around here, we really needed it," the woman smiled and handed me a bottle filled with orange liquid.  I took it and opened the cap to be greeted with the delightful smell of oranges!"

"Orange juice?" I asked, confused.

"It's to help you with the blood loss.  Don't stand up to quickly though, there's only so much it can help."

I thanked her again and she smiled, then turned to go take care of the other victims.  I watched her leave, then closed my eyes again.  I wasn't going to fall asleep, I just needed to calm my mind down and tune everything out for a bit.  A few minutes later, I felt a small form curl up against me and a pair of small arms wrapped around my torso.

"Please don't be dead," I heard a familiar voice say.  I opened my eyes and looked down to see little Robin curled up by my side.  I closed my eyes again and wrapped an arm around him, "Not dead, just tired."

"How are you feeling?" another voice asked.  I opened my eyes again and saw Robin's mom, Meisha Fletcher, standing in front of me.

"Exhausted, I think I ran around to much," I said, half joking.

"Yeah, I'll say, but I don't think there's a single person here who isn't thankful."

I hummed in response and leaned my head back against the wall I was sitting by.

"What happened to your shoulder?" Meisha asked.

"Alien scratched it.  Thankfully the girl I was helping and I got away by the skin of our teeth."

We talked for a while more and she was thankful that I had made it out okay.  Someone came over eventually and told her that is was time for her and Robin to evacuate.  Meisha looked at me with concern and said, "What about you?  Aren't you leaving?"

I sighed and got up with a bit of difficulty, "Nope, I'm afraid not.  I have to help some....friends with keeping the attack under control.  Well, not really helping them but getting people out of the way and to safety.  They want as many civilians as possible out of harm's way."

She shook her head and said, "You all are so brave and selfless.  Please be careful miss...?"

"(L/n).  (Y/n) (l/n)."

"Okay.  Please be careful (y/n)!"

"Will do ma'am!" I playfully saluted and she grinned, then picked up Robin and followed the evacuation officer away.  I hoped they would be safe!  I didn't have much time to worry about them though, as another wave of Loki's army spilled through the large whole in the sky.

"Are you kidding me Loki?" I said under my breath, then ran off to go help as many people as I could.  I hadn't seen that Barton man in hours, and I hoped he was alright!  He seemed like a cool guy.  Don't know how he was going to keep himself safe with only a bow and a few arrows, but he seemed pretty damn skilled!  I hadn't seen Loki either.  What the hell was he doing now?!  Maybe he had gotten captured?  Probably not, as the chitauri were still invading.  God I just wanted all of this to be over.  It'd be better if it were a nightmare, but after all of this there was no way that was possible.

Suddenly a roar echoed through the street and I stopped dead in my tracks as a huge humanoid creature launched itself overhead.  It was green and about twice the size of a man, with huge over sized muscles!  Then it occurred to me, Banner was able to turn into something that matched the description of the thing that had just leapt over me.

"Dr. Banner?" I called out to it.  It turned around and almost looked as if it smiled at me!  It was him!  I waved at him and he turned and resumed his rampage, and disappeared out of sight.  "Well, that explains a lot," I said to myself, then turned and began looking for more victims.  Seeing none in the area, I turned to began searching another.  Still no one.  Maybe everyone had gotten out!  Perfect, that meant my job was done.  Just as I turned to leave and join the rest of the evacuation teams, something flew over me.  I looked up and saw Tony Stark flying towards the portal with something large and torpedo shaped in his grip.  A nuke.

"Oh my god," I said, my eyes wide and full of fear.  What the hell was he doing?  He flew up and nearly his his tower, but just barely missed.  Instead, he kept flying up, higher and higher until he reached......

Oh no...


	19. 19

"No, no, no no no no!" I cried as I watched Tony fly into the wormhole with the nuke on his back.  There was no way he could come back once in there.  The nuke would explode, not only destroying the chitauri, but him as well.  There was an audible boom as orange light spilled out of the portal, and it began closing.  He wasn't coming out.  Tears pricked my eyes and I wanted to break down and cry, but knew that there was no use in it, so instead I just kept watching as the wormhole finished closing.  Before it was completely gone though, something fell out.  Something small and...human shaped.  Could it really be?!

I ran towards the direction of its crash landing and hoped that it was Tony.  Something flew out and grabbed him before he hit the ground, and I sped up, overjoyed that he was okay!  When I got there, Steve, Thor, and the Hulk were crowded around him, worried looks on their faces.  My heart sank again and I rushed over to see him lying still.  he wasn't breathing.  "Is he okay?" I asked, fearful of the answer.  Thor wrapped a strong arm around my shoulder as I looked at Tony's unconscious body.  

"I don't know," Steve said sadly.  Hulk took a few steps back, then roared at the top of his lungs.  Tony gasped and looked around, dazed and confused.  We all breathed a sigh of relief to see that he was okay!

"What the hell?" he said breathlessly, "What just happened?  Please tell me no one kissed me."

I grinned seeing him act like his normal self again, even if it did slightly annoy me that he immediately started joking right after we nearly started grieving him.  "We won," Steve answered.  Tony breathed a sigh of relief and told us to take a break tomorrow.  

"You ever tried shawarma?" he asked no one in particular, "There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here.  I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it."

Thor smiled at everyone, but became serious again and told us we weren't finished just yet.  There was still his brother we had to worry about.

-

-

When we got back to the bar room in Stark tower, we found Loki looking quite beaten and bruised as he lay on a few steps.  Hulk had a smug grin on his face and I realized that he must have had a fight with Loki, and clearly won.  Clint, whom I found out was Natasha's good friend and an assassin for SHIELD, aimed his arrow at Loki, warning him that if he made a wrong move he'd shoot.  Loki grinned weakly at us and said, "If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now."

"Loki, don't make this any worse for yourself," I said sternly.  

"I'll try not to," he grinned at me.  His eyes were green again, and I knew now that he was going to surrender completely.  I told Clint he could lower his arrow and he looked at me distrustfully.  Thor assured him that he could trust me, as I knew how to read Loki's actions.  He wasn't going to pull anymore stunts for a while.  Tony chained him up, careful to make sure he didn't have any knives hidden away to stab him like he did to Thor, and lead him to a secure chamber to lock him up until they got everything up and running again and Thor was ready to bring him back.

After everyone had deemed him harmless, they allowed me to see him and discuss what would happen.  Loki surrendered the tesseract to me before I left, and told me to give it to Thor to help them get home.

"Why don't you tell him that you were being controlled?" I asked during one of my visits.

"And risk the start of another war?  I don't think so.  It's better if everyone thinks that I did this of my own volition."

"No, it's not!  You're going to get punished for something you had no control over!"

"(Y/n) please trust me.  I'll have Thor come to get you the day of my trial so that you can be there for my sentencing."

I looked at him sadly and reluctantly agreed to allow him to continue saying that he lead the attack on New York.  Someone knocked on the door of the chamber and told me my time was up.  Loki and I got up and I hugged him tightly, knowing that this could be the last time I see him.  Slowly, he gingerly hugged me back as if he were unsure of what to do.

"Please don't pull anymore stunts, okay?" I asked, burying my face in his shoulder.  

"Of course," he replied quietly.  I broke away as the guard knocked again on the door and said goodbye as I closed the door behind me.  Clint was out in the hall as I left, and caught me before I walked past him.

"So, what's the deal between you and Christmas Tree?"

"I-I'm sorry?"

"Loki," he clarified, "Are you like, an ex girlfriend or...?"

My eyes widened at the assumption that we used to be lovers and my cheeks grew hot.  "Oh, no!  No, nothing like that at all!  I had to interrogate him when he was in custody and he and I became friends I guess you could say."

"Doesn't seem like it.  And how did the other's know that you weren't on his side since you two were so close?"

"I was under close watch the entire time, and I had tried to stop him several times from going through with his plans."

"Why do you still care for him then?"

I was hesitant on explaining Loki's condition to Clint.  As much as I trusted him, I didn't know how he would handle the information, or what he would do with it.  "It's...complicated.  There's so much more to him than just a power hungry villain and it seemed that I was the only one who saw that."

Clint didn't seem to satisfied with the answer I gave him, but I ignored him and walked off before he could ask me anything else.

-

-

The next day came before I wanted it to, and around noon we were standing in central park saying goodbye to Thor, even though I was the only one, Loki as well.  

"Hey, Thor?" I walked over to the blonde thunderer.

"Yes Lady (y/n)?"

"Would you mind taking Loki's mouth guard off?  I need to talk to him."

Thor looked at me uncertainly but agreed, much to the dismay of our friends.  He took off the guard and Loki smiled at me gratefully as I took him a few meters away from the others.  I dipped under his chained wrists and stood up, hugging him tightly again.  He returned the gesture to the best of his ability and rested his chin on my head.  Then I pulled away and smacked him across the face.  Not hard, but enough to startle him.  Loki looked at me with a hurt and confused expression on his face and I said, "That's for not listening to me!"  Then I pulled him down and gently kissed him on the lips.  He jumped, but kissed back and melted into it.  I tore away after a few seconds and said, "That's for saving my life."

He grinned like a school boy at me and kissed me again, this time it was a bit sweeter.  Thor cleared his throat and we stopped and I dipped back under his arms.  I was bright red and I could feel everyone's astonished stares boring into me but I ignored them.  Thor put Loki's mouth guard back on him, and they held the tesseract.

"Goodbye my friends," Thor smiled at us, then twisted the handle and they disappeared in a flash of blue light. 


End file.
